The Agenda

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal may have just ruined his shot (however remote) at the vice presidency. While McCain could use a younger counterpart who appeals to the Christian Right, the electorate at large may not embrace someone who veers so far towards the shoulder on the concert of faith and public policy.

Jindal's vocal support of Intelligent Design is pitiable, but potentially toxic to McCain's bid for national approval. Especially when he frames his enthusiasm this way:

Clear Channel has been bought for $19.5B ($39.20/share) by 'a private equity group' led by Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners.

Bain Capital was founded in Boston in 1984 by three partners, including Mitt Romney, who were all also partners in Bain & Co. consulting. Romney was also Massachusetts governor at the time.

C'est tres triste, le foundeur de "franglaise," l'homme Britaine (pas d'etre confusee avec "Breton"), Miles Kingston, est morte, a ceci mardi.

Kingston ecriveree par Punch magazin pour la plus ans, producer un column allez, "Let's Parler Franglais!" avec pieces utiles comme, par example, un vendriere porte-a-porte qui dit, en assurance, "Je ne suis pas un nutter religieux." J'ai aprecie personnallement ces installments tres beauboups.

YouTube videographer "mobius32" submits this thoughtful documentary (18:08) of the history of the now-ubiquitous "Amen Break" that underlies nearly all early hip-hop and electronica, segueing into how this history exemplifies also the history of digital audio and the history of content control.

Cisco Systems, maker of top-shelf advanced digital telecommunications hardware (including the Linksys wifi card I'm using right now) has a fabu new TV ad out, dramatically depicting what their advertising arm calls 'The Human Network'. It's a pretty hot ad, and you should definitely see it -- and especially hear it. Because in the now-well-established (but sadly not at all yet passé) custom of using Boomer-era hard rock anthems in patently commercial advertising, Cisco has decided that the best mid-century musical touchstone to help tee-vee watchers understand how The Human Network "enables people to make powerful connections—whether in business, education, philanthropy, or creativity" is ... "Baba O'Riley."

[cue: Copland's 'Fanfare for the Common Man']

Congratulations, each and every one of you, for being selected as Time's Person of the Year. You must be very proud, I'm sure.

Here are my endorsements for Tuesday's election, with my comments. Note that these are my picks, not the formal endorsements of the Agenda (which don't really exist, at least not formally) or anyone else.

Pat Buchanan, whose dirty Irish forebears invaded our previously pristine WASP nation in the mid-19th Century to escape the Great Famine, warns us all in his new book about the perils of letting dirty foreigners into our otherwise awesome country. An eloquent writer with apparently no sense of irony, he writes:

Those who might feel that they're running out of reasons to hate Disney needn't worry about losing their resolve, and breaking down and buying their copyrighted products for a young niece who's too young to grasp the issues. Because thanks to a lengthy history of putting profits over, well, pretty much everything, Disney is now set to traumatise everyone over the age of 20 or so with a new CG-based redux on Winnie the Pooh that I can only describe as just plain wrong in every way possible. Rest tight, Steamboat Willie.

Last year's shitstorm over antigay reggae artists playing Lupo's (which moved music writer Rick Massimo to pen a thoughtfully considered opinion on the debate) seems not to have rematerialsed in anticipation of Buju Banton's impending headline show (Wednesday 6 September) -- yet. Although the show's been billed for some time, it's summertime, and the schools are only starting to come back. If college students form a vital mass component to these protests, then Washington Street might seem a lot more chaotic next week.

Strained by multiple operations around the world and finding itself woefully short on the supply end by around 80,000 slabs of fresh meat this year alone, the military is now accepting older recruits. Citizens in good fitness, including felons, may apply for enlistment up to age 42, as long as they aren't queer.