Crossposted at Shadow Blog for America

Ever wish you could set sail on the tall ships?

Ever wish you could keel haul every scurvy dog on Capitol Hill?

Ever want to burst into your local Blockbuster and demand the latest releases, a stack of blank tapes and a couple of their finest VCRrrrr's?

If you answered "yes" you might have the makings of a fine pirate. Or, maybe you would just enjoy talking like one. You're in luck! Today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day! Started by 2 guys some years ago and popularized in columns by Dave Barry, TLAP Day is a chance to shrug off workaday life for for the adventure of the high seas... or at least to inject some fun and nautical whimsy into your workaday life. So, gather up your mates! Buckle up your Cap'n Morgan boots. Cock your hat to a jaunty angle and join in singing the official TLAP Day chantey! And, after work? Flagons of grog 'til your timbers shiver! Arrr!!!

 

There's been a definite Beatles theme to the titles of some of the posts at Blog for America. Yesterday, we had Carry that Weight, earlier today there was Here Comes the Sun. It was just crying out for some parodies.

The most recent post on Blog for America is a guest entry by Karen Bauer, Leslie Weise and Alexander Young--Denver residents who were ejected from one of  the "town hall" events Bush is holding to promote his Social Security piratization plan.

http://www.blogforamerica.com/archives/006146.html

Caught the end of "8 Mile" on VH1 last night.  Some lyrics started rattling around my head. (no comments from the peanut gallery about how much room to rattle there must be!)  I finally fleshed it out. ...To the tune of Eminem's "Lose Yourself".  Midi accompaniment is here.
 I don't know how many here are familiar with "Flat Howard". But, I thought it might also be appropriate now to revisit his hip-hop alter ego "Phat Howard!"

"Lose Your Mind"

Look, if you had one shot, one opportunity
To give the people the Power they need - one Movement
Would you grab the Power - or give it away?

I've been following some of the discussions about "framing" lately. On the one hand, many Democrats  are convinced that better framing is just what we need in order to start winning elections again. But there others feel like it's just the latest fad and will only serve to distract us. Earlier today, on Blog for America, someone commented that  Bush did not have to rely on framing to win the 2004 election, because he could run on his performance in his four years in office.

The way I see it, framing is exactly what made people think Bush's first term was anything other than a complete disaster - not his actual accomplishments. They didn't call it the "Extended Access for Logging Companies Act". They called it the "Healthy Forests Initiative". They don't call it Empire Building. They call it "Spreading Democracy". They call everything they do exactly the opposite of what it actually is. This is how they use framing. And, they have used it very effectively.