Brainshrub.com - Carnival of the Liberals

Carnival of the Liberals #34: Ides of March Edition

Paul -V- — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 12:10:11 -0400

"The Ides" was the ancient Roman way of saying the 15th day of March, May, July, or October, or, the 13th day of any other month.

On the Ides of March in 44 BCE, Julius Caesar, the dictator of Rome, was stabbed to death by a group of senators who called themselves the Liberatores ("Liberators"); they justified their action on the grounds they committed tyrannicide, not murder, and were preserving the Republic from Caesar's alleged monarchical ambitions. (*)

To this day, "The Ides Of March" has come to mean a foreboding of doom for powerful people or ideas.

The assassination did nothing to prevent Rome from falling into tyranny. Within a decade, Octavian was declared Emperor - the first in a long line of absolute rulers over the Roman Empire.

It's one of history's greatest ironies that a city based on the ideal a free people did not need monarchs - would be ruled by individuals who would set the template for the word "Emperor" in the West.

The lesson: Killing dictators does not make a society free, and often leads to something worse.

American Liberals understand this - which is why we prefer the rule of law over violence in order to remove would-be tyrants.

Using existing institutions over stabbing your opponent in the well of the Senate requires creativity and patience. Thankfully, Liberals have both qualities in abundance - as is demonstrated in today's "Carnival of the Liberals". (CotL)

Let this year's Ides of March be a call to Liberals to use our energies creatively to rain political doom upon the heads of would-be emperors of the American Republic.

"CapeTownDissentator" of the blog Dissentators.blogspot.com is a pro-gun Liberal and not afraid to explain why. However, he doesn't understand why anyone would think the Constitution grants you the right to have an unlicensed bazooka.

To hammer home the point that the Iraq War is un-American "Montag" of the blog I Miss Fafblog, Spot presents us with a new recepe for the all-American apple pie.

Are you tired of Republicans accusing Democrats of wanting to cut-and-run? "The Ridger, FCD" of The Greenbelt shows us who the real cut-and-runners are.

"Praveen" of the blog Tao of Simplicity, wrote an excellent post about the surprising results of global warming.

"Terrance" of the blog The Republic Of T, wrote an excellent article about what it's like to raise his son in a world that condemns him for his sexuality.

It's sad so many conservatives want to oppress people for their sexual preference - and especially hypocritical since, as "GRP" of the blog /etc/cron.whenever/ points out, there are likely far more closeted gays in the Republican party than the Democrats will ever have.

Hypocrisy is also the subject of MW's post on Divided We Stand, United We Fall blog. Take the Looking Glass Liars & The Partisan Hypocrite Test.

While we are on the subject of gay-bashing homophobes who are probably in the closet themselves. "Mad Kane" of Mad Kane’s Political Madness explains why she will no longer mention what's-her-name in her blog.

However, if you DO want to use what's-her-name in a creative way, why not use haiku like "Bubbles" of OgMog.com?

If Haiku isn't creative enough for you "Blue Steel" of the blog Pollyticks.com has a great step-by-step guide on how to make political cartoons.

Congratulations and thank-you to all of this week's selected bloggers. Next weeks CotL will be at the Framed on March 28th, 2007. Use the submission form at the official Carnival of the Liberals website.

Tags: Carnival of the Liberals - Ides of March

Note: Many apologies for being late with the carnival. This was supposed to be posted on Wednesday.

I'm sooooooooooo sorry

Paul -V- — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 12:19:33 -0400

I'm sooooooo sorry.

I had to work late last night, and therefore didn't have an opportunity to finish this week's "Carnival of the Liberals". (CotL)

I deserve to be shot in the knee caps.

I should jump off a roof, and land on a bicycle without a seat.

I'm a bad person.

In my defense, I've been working on CotL since 7am this morning - but the project is not half-way completed, and I have to be at work at 1pm EST.

I promise to have the blog carnival up by tomorrow morning.

Really.

I'm hosting Carnival of the Liberals

Paul -V- — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 08:59:09 -0500

Today's post is a simple heads-up:

On Wednesday, March 14th, I'll be hosting a "Carnival of the Liberals." (CotL)

A "Blog Carnival" is when Bloggers who share similar interests on a topic submit their best posts, or nominate other peoples posts, to a central host-blogger who then collates and promotes them as a carnival.

The carnival happens on a regular schedule, and the host of the carnival alternates with each issue.

CotL is a bit different from other blog carnivals in that the host only gets to use what s/he considers the 10 best entries.

I've hosted several Carnivals before: here, here and here.

To submit your blog post, visit the Carnival of the Liberals website and use the submission form. ON EDIT: The deadline for this weeks CotL is March 11th @ 11:59pm EST.

The theme for next weeks carnival: The Ides of March.

Tags: Blog Carnival

Carnival of the Liberals #21

tng@neuralgourmet.com — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 15:14:30 -0400

Look what the blog carnival fairy brought! I went to bed last night with a an old busted keyboard under my pillow and when I woke up this morning the keyboard was gone and there was a brand new edition of Carnival of the Liberals over at Archy! Well, slightly delayed but worth the wait we've got some blogging that's so good that Matt Drudge realizes the futility of his life and entertains thoughts of sepuku when he reads it.

Next up is Martin of Writings on the Wall on September 27th.

Carnival of the Liberals #17: The Birthday Edition

Paul -V- — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 10:00:01 -0400

Today's blog carnival invokes the idea of "Birthdays" because it's the beginning of a persons development. I'm going to attempt to tie each selected blog entry into some aspect of a humans life-cycle: Birth, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, maturity and death.

Birthdays have a special place in Westersn civilization since we don't have formal coming-of-age rites. A birthday fills the role of signaling to the rest of society that a particular individual now has the full privileges and responsibilities of adulthood.

Also, the birthday celebration is our culture's way of giving an opportunity to tell a member of our our social circle that they are valued.

And you thought it was all about funny hats and cake, didn't you?

Title: Happy Birthday USA!

Blog: RigorVitae

Makes a good point that perhaps Americans should celebrate our countries birthday on March 4th rather than July 4th, since that is the day in 1789 that the US Constitution went into effect.

Title: "Hadji Girl" Song Turns Stalking and Murder Into Good Clean Fun

Blog: Abyss2hope

One of the reasons the song "Hadji Girl" was so abhorrent to most people was because childhood is supposed to be a time of innocence and playfulness - not death.

Title: Politicians and emotional vampires

Blog: Writings On The Wall

We all start life immature. The key to growth is to acknowledge this.

Title: The DailyKos Fallacy (i.e., why DailyKos does not matter)

Blog: ReyOnTheHill

As we get older, we start to become aware of the social hierarchies around us, and begin to connect with an affinity group. Within all such cliques, there are individuals whom outsiders point to and say "That person speaks for the entire subculture." (Much to the consternation of other members of that clique.)

Title: blogblogblogblogblog....

Blog: BlueGal

What I found interesting about this article is that BlueGal isn't whining that Kos gets so much attention. She's just chaffing against being lumped into a group by the media. To quote her blog directly:

"Markos is not the king of Daily Kos, but he is its center, and hell, he and his team did all the work to get it going. He deserves his success. I guess I see Daily Kos posters as either too time-crunched to have their own blog or else pimping their own blog, as I do myself there from time to time. As we individual bloggers continue to shine with creativity, images, (something a lot of Kossacks don't bother with), open-mindedness, and ~~maturity~~ panties, the blogosphere will sort itself out."

Title: My husband sucks, but he can't help it - nature made him that way

Blog: Heavens to mergatroyd

After spending a few years being obsessed with what our peers are doing, most of us settle down and find a partner. I suppose it's easier to worry about what one person thinks, than an entire group.

In this article, the author makes astute comments about how pundits wring their hands over how feminism is changing relationships.

Title: Challenging the Religious Right on Pollution

Blog: Edgy Mama

Once your own relationships and intellectual development is solid, it becomes easier to explain, and acknowledge, how the actions of other groups effect you.

It also becomes easier to teach others how to take action to improve things.

Title: Of public opinion, exit polls and fraud (or the lack thereof)

Blog: NeuralGourmet

One of the signs of maturity is being able to see the other side of the argument.

This is one of the best interviews I've seen about how there was no election fraud. This is something all BBV activists should read.

Title: National Review labels Joschka Fischer as Nazi Propaganda Minister

Blog: AtlanticReview

And conversely, a sign of immaturity is comparing anything you don't like to Nazis. (Admittedly, this is something we on the left do a lot of.)

Title: RIP Roger Keith Barrett

Blog: Don't Floss With Tinsel

Death is the final stage of life. This blog post addresses something most obituaries don't address about Roger Barret: His mental illness.

Thanks for joining us for Carnival of the Liberals #17. The next carnival will be held at ReyOnTheHill on August 2nd, 2006. Use this form to submit your entires.

Tags: Blog Carnival - Carnival of the Liberals

A call for submissions for the next blog carnival

Paul -V- — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 10:13:38 -0400

On Wednesday, July 19th 2006 Brainshrub.com will be hosting Carnival of the Liberals #17: "The Birthday Edition".

If you are a Liberal blogger, and you have a post that you are particularly proud of, please send it me via this online form.

The deadline for submissions is 11:59 pm EST on Monday, July 17th.

In case you don't know, A blog "carnival" is when bloggers who share similar interests on a topic (In this case, Liberals.) submit their best posts, or nominate other peoples posts, to a central host-blogger who then collates and promotes them as a carnival.

The carnival happens on a regular schedule, and the host of the carnival alternates with each issue. The host is expected to do everything in h/er power to promote the carnival and present the links in a creative way. Sometimes, a theme is invoked. For example, in CotL #5 Modem Butterfly used the theme "The Twilight Zone", and, in CotL #8 I used "Haiku".

CotL is a bit different than most other carnivals because it is more selective. The host is limited to ten of the entries.

Think of Carnival of the Liberals (CotL) like the Utne Reader of the liberal blogosphere; it is a way to showcase up-and-coming writers and increase their site traffic.

This will be the third time I've hosted CotL, and the entries keep getting better. I look forward to reading, and promoting, your work.

Tags: Carnival of the Liberals - Blog Carnival

Carnival of the Liberals #13 is up at the blog: Lucky White Girl.

Paul -V- — Wed, 24 May 2006 09:39:40 -0400

Carnival of the Liberals #13: "The Transnational Lucky Awards Edition" is up at one of my favorite blogs: Lucky White Girl.

This edition is presented in the format of an awards show.Â Very entertaining.

Click on the image below to check it out

Carnival of the Liberals #12 is up!

Paul -V- — Fri, 12 May 2006 17:08:42 -0400

This is a reminder to y'all that Carnival of the Liberals #12 at the blog: Daylight Atheism

NIGHTTIME IS FOR DREAMING. DAYLIGHT IS FOR ACTION.

Go check it out:

Carnival of the Liberals #10 is up!

Paul -V- — Wed, 12 Apr 2006 14:40:03 -0400

Carnival of the Liberals #10 is up at the blog Pharyngula. Hooray!

Click on the banner below to go pay a visit.

By the way, how do you pronounce "Pharyngula" anyways?

Carnival of the Liberals Number 8: The Haiku Edition.

Paul -V- — Wed, 15 Mar 2006 06:00:28 -0500

Welcome to Carnival of the Liberals #8: The Haiku Edition.

Today we combine two great writing styles - one old and one new: Haiku and blogging.

Haiku, as we know it today, originated in Japan sometime in the 1400s. There are many different forms: Tanrenga, ChÅrenga or Haikai - to name a few. However, for today we will focus on contemporary English-language haiku which has a set structure of three lines written in 5-7-5 syllables.

Blogs, although they are only a few years old, are similar to haiku poetry in that, while there are many forms, it has a set structure. i.e.: A web-diary organized in reverse chronological order that is published exclusively on the internet.

Combining the two for you has been pure joy.

And now, onto Carnival of the Liberals #8: The Haiku Edition.

Title: History is Power.
Blog: Lucky White Girl
Description: An essay about the silly notions suffragettes had to fight in the struggle for women to have the vote. Today's peace activists also have to fight silly notions.

Silly notions

Every age must fight
some rather silly notions.
Learning all along.

Title: some time at the park
Blog: DaveAwayFromHome
Description: An artist and her daughter met God. The way God communicates his emotions through the children in the park was extremely creative.

Meeting God

I met God today.
He talked with more than sound
We will meet again.

Title: The Socialism of Water
Blog: monacojerry
Description: Who knew that water distribution was so darn interesting? This essay discusses the history of water socialism and why it works so well.

Socialized Water

Socialized water.
Some things are too important
for corporations.

Title: Winning the lesbian parent marathon
Blog: In This Moment
Description: Touching story about what it's like raising a child with the constant fear that he could be taken from you just because you are gay.

Winning the Marathon

The biggest danger
to bigots and Homophobes
are good gay parents.
.

.
.

Title: Building Loony Town
Blog: Jaundice James
Description: If Christian fundamentalists want to have their own little cities, why not just let them and watch them implode?

Fundie Dystopia

If fundies want to
live in a dystopia:
Why not just let them?

Title: If You Want To Sell the National Forests to Private Developers, Do Nothing
Blog: Scrutiny Hooligans
Description: This is about the pending forest sell-off that the Bush administration has been pushing.

Do Nothing

If you want to sell
your heritage for nothing.
Simply do nothing.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Title: Iraqi Civil War
Blog: Throw Away Your TV
Description: Two video clips, one of Jon Stuart and the other of Stephen Colbert. Jon makes fun of a general who thinks that everything is okay in Iraq. Stephen gives advise to Iraqis on how to have a memorable civil war.

Jon and Stephen

Two comedians:
Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert
talk about Iraq.

Title: Stuck in an Orwellian nightmare
Blog: Writings On The Wall
Description: A suggestion to replace the War on Terror with a threat that can actually be solved without slipping into an Orwellian nightmare.

War on Pirates

A "War on pirates"
to replace "War on Terror."
Orwell is pleased.

Title: Hutz v. Mason: Silencing Justice
Blog: And Doctor Biobrain's Response Is...
Description: Doctor biobrain debunks the RW talking points about tort reform.

Doctor BioBrain

Doctor BioBrain.
An expert in all topics.
Humble and modest.
.
.
.
.
.

Title: Political Surrender to the Oppressive
Blog: atheism.about
Summary: Disscussion about the book "Fear: The History of a Political Idea."

Fear

Fear: nothing but a
political idea.
Tool of the elite.
.
.
.
.
.

That's it for the Carnival of the Liberals #8: The Haiku Edition. The next carnival will be on March 29, 2006 at the blog atheism.about.

For more information on how to submit to the carnival, or to host Carnival of the Liberals on your blog, visit the CotL website.

Tags: Blog Carnival - Haiku - politics - poetry - Carnival of the Liberals