Bush Animation

This is an animation I threw together. It didn't turn out like I wanted, but here it is anyway.

The Political Compass

The chart above depicts my position on The Political Compass." I am "Libertarian Left" which puts me in the same category as Gandhi, Nelson Mandella, and the Dalai Lama, though my position seems to be further left then any of theirs. By that same token George W. Bush and Margaret Thatcher rank further right than Adolf Hitler, so I don't know how accurate such a test can be. The test is an interesting evaluation at any rate, asking basic questions about political, social, and economic issues, but it also asks how you feel about astrology and abstract art. While I don't know how the latter two items affect your political positions, it's still an interesting inclusion.

Liberal Opinion Can Be Bought

Over at the Huffington Post we find a section in which Ariana and a handful of the site's celebrity bloggers endorse the Toyota's Prius, a hybrid vehicle. The section is sponsored by Toyota.

In the advertisement, Bill Mahr says that driving a hybrid is about "terrorism and the environment." Ariana says that driving the Japanese-made vehicle is "patriotic." Both of these ideas are reprehensible tactics intended to motivate the purchase of a consumer product.

It's pretty clear that these manipulative opinions have been purchased by Toyota's ad dollars, yet they are being presented as unvarnished opinion. After all there are other hybrids out there, so why endorse just one corporation's offering?

Unbiased liberal opinion, my ass. By doing this the HuffPo just looks like a shill for any company with deep pockets. Keep your eyes open.