Free Republic

The Socialist Party of America announced last year that there were 70 Democrat members of Congress in their caucus. Yeah, I know — “Only 70?” That’s what I thought too. At the time, there were no names attached. Now there are: American Socialist Voter– Q: How many members of the U.S. Congress are also members of the DSA? A: Seventy Q: How many of the DSA members sit on the Judiciary Committee? A: Eleven: John Conyers [Chairman of the Judiciary Committee], Tammy Baldwin, Jerrold Nadler, Luis Gutierrez, Melvin Watt, Maxine Waters, Hank Johnson, Steve Cohen, Barbara Lee, Robert Wexler, Linda...

Fairey’s $400k for Obama June 9, 2008 Back in January we posted on Shepard Fairey’s posters in support of the Barack Obama campaign. At the time, some comments cast doubt over how effective the posters would be. Not only is Obama now assured of the Democratic nomination but, we can reveal, sales of Fairey’s posters (shown above) raised over $400,000 to help him get there… Of course the posters in themselves, we assume, played only a very minor role in securing the nomination (although if anyone wants to conduct a poll on voter intentions versus coolness of poster design we’d...

This Month in Advertising Buzz up! The ad man behind Guitar Hero and Nike takes a subversive look at American ideals in his new book, E Pluribus Venom. As a graphic designer, Shepard Fairey has helped market some of the biggest names around: Nike, Zeppelin, Guitar Hero. And with his new book, E Pluribus Venom (Gingko Press, $30), Fairey has taken to branding America’s great national ideals -- capitalism, nationalism, militarism -- with a series of subversive ads. You won’t find much of the clear-eyed optimism of Fairey’s Obama posters (not included in the book), but you will find America....

ELYRIA -- Framed posters of Barack Obama, Che Guevara and Henry David Thoreau hang in the office of Lorain County Common Pleas Judge James Burge. The judge, who is conducting hearings on the constitutionality of Ohio's method for putting prisoners to death, said he respects those who back up words with action and that Thoreau, the 19th-century philosopher, was his first role model. ''I tend to admire people who in my opinion go beyond their speech -- they actually do what they say,'' Burge said. For Burge, that will mean putting aside personal opinions on the death penalty -- he...

The Obama campaign might want to add another "smear" to their web page: the idea that some Obama backers, at least, have an odd affinity for murderous Communists. It started in Houston, and apparently has spread to Ohio. This photo of an Ohio judge (!) appeared in USA Today this morning: