Articles

BY BARTON BUND, THE BLACKBIRD THEATRE

BY BARCODE 2X

The wildfire season in Southern California continues. Thousands are fleeing their homes, hospitals are evacuated, highways are closed, and millions are threatened. The cause of the massive blaze in the San Fernando Valley is yet to be determined. Firefighters have kept much of the blaze contained, but with burning material still out there, and with hot Santa Ana Winds kicking up, the threat is still imminent.

Founder Jeanine DeLay and Web Director Barton Bund featured in Concentrate Ann Arbor, a new online news source. Click here and read all about it.

BY BARTON BUND, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, THE BLACKBIRD THEATRE

An article in this month's American Theatre Magazine lays out where McCain, Obama and other third-party candidates stand on supporting the Arts. Vist the Theare Communications Group online at www.tcg.org.

Obama's got a plan: big increases to the National Endowment for the Arts, increases to Arts programs in schools, and neat projects like bringing artists into low-income schools for workshops and residences.

BY BARCODE 2X

They're out there. A small percentage of voters are still persuadeable. Let's address some root causes of undecidedness.

BY BARCODE 2X

Don't just get out the vote! Get out the gloat! When your candidate wins, don't forget to rub it in among friends, family, coworkers, etc. who may swing the other way. You may be hung over from your voting night party. Don't make excuses! You have got to get out there and gloat! It is your responsibility as a citizen.

The negative ads will be over. The campaigns will be dissolved. Your bumper sticker, however, can stay on your car as long as you like! The lawn signs never need to come down! This is an important election, and you must not forget to gloat.

BY BARCODE 2x

On Tuesday, November 4, make sure you are able and ready to vote. There are several voting roadblocks and things that could prevent you, however.

• Have you blocked off enough time away from work? Don't make excuses! Plan your voting day now!
• Are you registered?
• Don't be complacent! Just because your candidate may be winning or losing, you still need to get in there and be counted. Every vote matters.

Then once you're in the booth, are you fully prepared?

BY BARCODE 2X

I've got some ethics for you. Tonight as I am drinking from a $13.99 bottle of Korbel Brut, I am wracked with guilt. And tomorrow, when I drink from a $15.99 bottle of Jim Beam Rye, I shall again be wracked with guilt. Because I hardly paid a fraction of that and I am certainly getting all the enjoyment. I will explain. But first, sit down and let me make you a drink.

The Unethical Old Fashioned

BY BARCODE 2X

Unethical superstar Sting gets the ethical thumbs down this week! We've gathered some dirt and we came up with some solid reasons to hate the pop guru!

BY BARCODE 2X, MZ. MANNERS, SANDY BOTTOMS

The a2ethics.org staff sits in the newsroom for a moment in silence.

BARCODE 2x: Don't everybody jump in at once.

MZ.MANNERS: I still don't think I know.

SANDY BOTTOMS: Ethics are the study and practice of right and wrong. Decision making, that's the easiest way I can explain it.

MM: But there are decisions you make that aren't ethical one way or another. Little white unethical decisions.

B2X: Not true.

SB: Right, it could be argued that every decision has ethical underpinnings.