Dear Mr. Bowers.
It has come to our attention that you are defaming the brand name of the “Creative Class”. We have checked our membership databases and can find no entry for Chrisopher J. Bowers. We, the members of the creative class, take our image very seriously and would ask you to please provide credentials to us immediately verifying your qualifications for membership. To qualify, please provide the following information:
Which division of the creative class are you applying to? Some examples of our authorized divisions include, biotech (subdivisions: chemistry, biology, pharmaceutical sciences, genomics, structural biology, fermentation engineering, electrophysiology) telecommunications, art, architecture and design, entertainment, (subdivisions: screenwriting, cinematography, editing, CGI special effects, sound engineering), computational sciences (subdivisions: hardware design, processor design, software, network design and implementation) (Blogging does not qualify), Green Sciences, alternative energy, low carbon footprint architecture (PhD not necessary but desirable.), library and information science, bearded Princeton professors of Economics
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Which peer reviewed journals in the authorized divisions have your publications been accepted? Please provide citations.
-
Please list any patents or “records of invention” that you have achieved or are pending.
Divisions that do not qualify: writers of unintentional self-parody.
It should also be noted that geographical location near one of our creative class centers does not meet the criteria for automatic inclusion.
If your qualifications are acceptable, we will notify you by email. If you do not qualify, we must ask you to immediately cease and desist from referring to yourself as a member of our class. Your statements regarding our attitudes and political preferences are misleading and defamatory. In short, you are giving us a bad name.
One final note: apparently unbeknownst to you, we have now joined the ranks of the working class. This means that we frequently work with our hands as well as our heads. Should you still feel the desire to join our class, this is something you should keep in mind.
You attention to this matter is greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance,
“Bubba” Riverdaughter “Bunker”
Filed under: General | Tagged: Chris Bowers, creative class |
The Confluence 
CC: Chris Matthews, Tim Russert, Keith Olberman
LOL 🙂
Maybe we also need to state that certain behaviors immediately disqualify people from the creative class. Blind faith following in a pseudo-religious political cult, for example.
Hold on folks, here’s a nice piece by Jay Cost at RCP – NOT QUITE YET. Yes, the title concurs with our exemplary thinking that it’s not quite yet time for HRC to bow out. His analysis is clear and very plausible, check it out.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/horseraceblog/2008/05/not_quite_yet_1.html
“So, here’s my question. What happens to “It’s Over” if Clinton pulls a 40-point victory in West Virginia on Tuesday, then follows it up a week later with a 30-point victory in Kentucky? If these states turn out in the same margins that states since March 4th have averaged, that would imply a net of about 290,000 votes for Clinton. That puts her within striking distance of a reasonable popular vote victory. “Over” will be over as we turn our attention to Puerto Rico…
The inference I draw is that Puerto Ricans could turn out in huge numbers. If they do, and they swing for Clinton in a sizeable way, the popular vote lead could swing, too. Add 290,000 votes from West Virginia and Kentucky to 250,000 votes from Puerto Rico, account for expected losses in Oregon, Montana, and South Dakota, and you get Clinton leading in many popular vote counts, some of which are really quite valid. If she has one of those leads when the final votes are counted on June 3rd, the race will go on to the convention.”
I would love to go to Denver in August. Anyone game?
What, manufacturing hot air isn’t super creative core?
Elixir: I know someone we can stay with. We can camp out on her living room floor.
Oh, snap!
RD, I’m checking airfares. Hillary, keep going.
We look to the “creative class” to “create our own reality”. What are mere “patents” and “journals” compared to that?
rd: Am I still included in your demographic? Over 60, white, female, under $60,000 yrly income, a feminist, marched for civil rights in the 60s, marched against the Cambodia bombings, part of the feminist movement, worked for years in local, state, and national elections on behalf of the Democratic Party and I have only an Associates Degree? I have no idea where I belong by their definition but not in the creative class. Lately I feel as if I am calling out from the wilderness. Not a good place to be.
Pat: You are part of the Courageous Class. Fortunately for you, Chris will never qualify.
Ha! I LOVE IT! Way to go, RD! *thumbs WAY up*
Ha Ha, Sugar. Tweety, Russert and Olbermann are fully qualified members of the “Creative Class.” They are entertainers.
Maria Garcia: Entertainers are not part of this class. It is the people behind the camera that count.
I just read this in an e-mail from someone I know –“President Clinton said (on the conference call I got to listen in on with 1500 others) that Michigan was decided today fairly and that O will get the uncommitted delegates and Florida will be decided soon.”
The rest of the call was very positive, although I don’t feel authorized to quote it.
It is my hypothesis that the “OUT-OF-TOUCHNESS” of self-declared progressives is the result of
intentionally orchestrated operations
conducted by transnational financier cartels (or their agents) acting in a slime mold manner,
to turn every nation in the world into a sort of impotent colony to be looted their utopian system (which system can be fairly termed fascism).
The constitutional republic of the United States being their chief enemy.
And the Obama campaign (from the time he ran for state rep., actually) is simply an operation to prevent Hillary Clinton from becoming our next president. Simply that. No more.
What’s wrong with my hypothesis?
HRC sent a letter to BO last night about MI and FL. A copy was emailed by the campaign. Has there been any talk of that today?
Yeah Maria! There is nothing “creative” about anchoring a news program. Those bags of hot air, in many instances, waltz into the newsroom two or three hours before a newscast, glance over the scripts that tireless producers and reporters put together all day long and then powder their noses, and take all of the glory.
Thanks rd.
No, Pat, Thank YOU. We wouldn’t be here without you.
The idea of a party coming under the sway of the creative classes (however defined) is silly. Those folks have no long-term interest in or commitment to the daily grind of politics–of course political pundits would think otherwise, because they’re the only people in the creative class (however tenuously) who are occupationally invested in politics. That’s not an interest that can be extrapolated to everyone else. They’re quiescent people who will get by under whatever regime is running this country, and their momentary exaltation in favor of Mr. Feelgood will end on January 20, if not in November.
What’s the scoop on HRC’s letter to BO on MI/FL?
Also, airfares from Boston to Denver are amazingly low. I think I’m going to Denver. Now that I have a way to get there and a place to stay, thanks RD, let’s get some more folks involved. Anyone else game?
rd: Yes you would. That idealism that ignited me so many years ago is alive and well on this blog. Those of us who come here do so at your invitation which grew out of your sense of idealism and principle. That spark is what attracts those of us who breeze in and out. Your words articulate what many of us may not be as capable of expressing. But the common theme is a continual fight to address the failures of those who could do better for those unable to do so for themselves. Inclusion means everybody, not just a select few who are unwilling to empathize with the plight of those who struggle through life.
Elixir: The RapidResponders sent this out last night. I apologize for the long cut and paste:
“May 8, 2008
Senator Barack Obama
Obama for America
P.O. Box 8102
Chicago, IL 60680
Dear Senator Obama,
This has been an historic and exciting campaign. Millions of new voters have been brought into the process and their enthusiasm for the Democratic Party and the principles for which you and I have fought and continue to fight is unprecedented.
One of the foremost principles of our party is that citizens be allowed to vote and that those votes be counted. That principle is not currently being applied to the nearly 2.5 million people who voted in primaries in Florida and Michigan. Whoever emerges as the Democratic nominee will be hamstrung in the general election if a fair and quick resolution is not reached that ensures that the voices of these voters are heard. Our commitment now to this goal could be the difference between winning and losing in November.
I have consistently said that the votes cast in Florida and Michigan in January should be counted. We cannot ignore the fact that the people in those states took the time to be a part of this process and to make their preferences known. When efforts were untaken by leaders in those states to hold revotes to ensure that they had a voice in selecting our nominee, I supported those efforts. In Michigan, I supported a legislative effort to hold a revote that the Democratic National Committee said was in complete compliance with the party’s rules. You did not support those efforts and your supporters in Michigan publicly opposed them. In Florida a number of revote options were proposed. I am not aware of any that you supported. In 2000, the Republicans won an election by successfully opposing a fair counting of votes in Florida. As Democrats, we must reject any proposals that would do the same.
Your commitment to the voters of these states must be clearly stated and your support for a fair and quick resolution must be clearly demonstrated.
I am asking you to join me in working with representatives from Florida and Michigan and the Democratic National Committee to arrive at a solution that honors the votes of the millions of people who went to the polls in Florida and Michigan. It is not enough to simply seat their representatives at the convention in Denver. The people of these great states, like the people who have voted and are to vote in other states, must have a voice in selecting our party’s nominee.
Sincerely, Hillary Rodham Clinton”
What’s the scoop on HRC’s letter to BO on MI/FL?
If I’ve done my math correctly and they DID settle MI, BO gets 63 MI delegates (40% (percentage of “uncommitteds” of 157) and HRC gets 86 MI delegates (55% of 157). I guess the remaining delegates that voted for Kucinich et al are going nowhere.
Also, airfares from Boston to Denver are amazingly low. I think I’m going to Denver. Now that I have a way to get there and a place to stay, thanks RD, let’s get some more folks involved. Anyone else game?
Here’s Hillary’s open letter to Obama re MI/FL.
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/05/08/politics/horserace/entry4081100.shtml
HRC to BO:
“I am asking you to join me in working with representatives from Florida and Michigan and the Democratic National Committee to arrive at a solution that honors the votes of the millions of people who went to the polls in Florida and Michigan. It is not enough to simply seat their representatives at the convention in Denver. The people of these great states, like the people who have voted and are to vote in other states, must have a voice in selecting our party’s nominee.
Sincerely,
Hillary Rodham Clinton “
Fuck, I’m starving. This fast thing definitely has its drawbacks.
Hillary is being done in by the left wing conspiracy !
Sorry, I forgot the link to Hillary’s letter…
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/05/08/politics/horserace/entry4081100.shtml
LOL! This over 35, black female, card-carrying member of the creative class thanks you for telling it like it is.
I stopped reading Open Left when Bowers started with that creative class nonsense because it was obvious to me that he was trying to speak something into existence in order to make himself and the other blog boyz feel like they were something special. He’s ridiculous.
Howling with laughter! Well done, rd, well done. You burned his pious arse…and oh so creatively. 🙂
I guess I don’t qualify. I’ve been published in several peer-review journals and a book, but I’m only a psychologist. Oh well, I’ll have to live with the shame and go on somehow.
BB: I think you are part of Pat Johnson’s Courageous Class. We’re not worthy. Seriously.
ugh.
it is a self-serving and self-congratulatory title and I reject it wholeheartedly no matter who uses it – just like somebody told me I am a member of the elite.
I dont believe in classes.
But I get the joke – RD – though he wont.. 🙂
Pat,
I think I’d rather join you in the courageous class. I haven’t lost touch with my roots. My parents were educated and upwardly mobile and are now middle-class, but they have always been very down-to-earth. I worked in office jobs for nearly 20 years before I decided to go back to school. I wonder if we marched against the Cambodian bombings at the same time?
Bostonboomer, how do we can Ted Kennedy replaced?:
Kennedy: No veep slot for Clinton
It’s fun to think about, but there are so many obstacles, and Ted Kennedy isn’t buying, he said on Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital With Al Hunt,” which airs this weekend.
Obama should choose a running mate who “is in tune with his appeal for the nobler aspirations of the American people,” Kennedy said. “If we had real leadership — as we do with Barack Obama — in the No. 2 spot as well, it’d be enormously helpful.”
Ouch.
rd: Fuck, I’m starving. This fast thing definitely has its drawbacks.
heh.
Not me, I have enough sh*t to deal with today…plus who can resist cafeteria food? What is more, after my lunch I bought myself a latte… does anybody have any problem with that? 😉
Question: what is the latest nonsense about Obama calling Hillary’s supporters racist? Is it because of the % in WV?
Melanie: I have to agree with Kennedy on this. If Clinton accepted a VP slot, I’d lose all respect for her. But the cold harsh reality is that they only way a unity ticket has a prayer of winning is if Clinton occupies the top spot. There is no other way Obama is electable. And now that I am newly freed of my party affiliation, I am blissfully deaf to the pleadings and guilt trips of the pseudo-creative class that is left.
Wow! He’s going to really flame in WV. AA pop is about 4%. And he doesn’t like the working class. we’re just parasites. There’s not way in hell they are going to take that lightly.
riverdaughter, Yeh. Someone said, “Are you going to take your ball and go home?”
Nope. I’m already home. I’m prepared to go vote for Hillary and that’s pretty much it.
Link on BO & WV?
Kbird: You should say no, I’m just leaving the team. Try to field a football team with only 5 players.
RD, I no way in hell want Hill to run as BO’s VP. That would be an insult. My point was what Kennedy said about her.
never mind, I just read Gary’s post. Great job!
They coopted the Creative Class from GLBT even though Obama’s campaign alienated GLBT.
RD– I love you. I love that idea of leaving the team on the field with five papers.
We need to form a new team. Back in the ’60s, there were two underground newspapers in Boston. They were first given away and then sold by hawkers i the streets. One of the papers was called the Boston Phoenix. I can’t remember the name of the other one right now. But the own of that other one took over the Boston Phoenix and fired all the writers. So the writers got together and started another paper and called it The Real Paper.
We need to start a new party to replace the one that is kicking us out. We can call it the “The Real Democratic Party.”
Poor little Chris Bowers.
He sounds very young, very naive, very spoiled, and very arrogant.
He really DOES think he’s better than other people, doesn’t he?
Sad, sad, sad.
How about Rational Democrats? Or Working Democrats.
National Human Rights Party….
Successor to National Woman’s Party…
How about The Little Party That Could?!
There is a new party in MA. I think it’s called the Working Families Party. I like all those ideas. The one thing I know for sure is that we either have to take the Democratic Party back or we have to start another Party. It has been quite clear, especially since the 2006 elections that these “Democrats” don’t speak for us and won’t fight for us.
As much as I love the suggested names for our newfound party, I really don’t think this party division is going to happen. I don’t think there’s enough of the creative class to kick us out and I don’t think the majority of “us” want to leave. We need to give the CC a good old fashioned ass whoopin’, tongue lashing – call it what you will – but, they need to be put back in their place.
Elixir: Actually, I’m pretty happy with my new “unaffiliated” status. See, I figure if you don’t leave they will just assume that you are going to come around by the fall. And if they think you are a party member, they will just hit you with the guilt trip about how you could let the party down. But I am now unaffiliated and they need my vote to win. Therefore, they are much more likely to cater to me. That’s my version of ass whoopin’. And they aren’t getting a dime from me until they come to their senses.
Hillary is being done in by the left wing conspiracy !
It’s a “left” wing conspiracy to turn half the Democratic party against the other half?
No matter who wins – Obama or McCain – they’re both economically conservative. Our choice is a Republican checkmate: to accept and vote for a redefinition of the party as fiscally conservative or to vote for McCain.
Tax breaks instead of a living wage is not “left” wing IMO.
The delusion of those folks over at Open Left is unbelievable. Holy Cow!
No on is throwing away anyone or anything… you will not be only welcome by the party, but we hope that you will have a stronger say…
That was a response I got from some dude on open left when I congratulated them on alienating a huge section of the voters. They really do thing that THEY own the party. I mean, what’s up with the “We hope that you will have a stronger say…” sh*t? I was so enraged last night that it took a while to get to sleep. I was able to calm down some this morning but now after getting online again my blood pressure off the scale again. It’s been a really LONG time since I’ve been this mad. Ack.
Not thing but think. I’m so pissed I can’t even spell. Sigh.
lisadawn82,
I read your comments. Good for you. I was so mad this morning that I actually posted comments at the Washington post, including asking Eugene Robinson why he wants the Democrats to lose in November. I told him I had never seen him as one of McCain’s press groupies, but I guess I was wrong. It did make me feel a little better.
Well we have a lot of members of the creative class here in Massachusetts, but I can’t find any who voted for Barack in the primary. Funny that. Oh, yea, I’m a member of that dang creative class and I worked at manual labor for half of my career, the other half managing that same manual labor, so I don’t know, maybe I’m not creative class by default? I have multiple degrees, which unfortunately didn’t pay the bills as well as manual labor. The problem I have with all of this, and it’s the reason I am a Dem and a liberal: what are we going to do about the 11 million kids who are uninsured???? Just asking! When was the last time Chris brought that up?
Riverdaughter
I’ve spent my entire working lifetime in the “creative class” as far as I am concerned, and have always also fallen into the “working class” demographic. I think Bowers misses a very important point in his dismissal of working class voters while he touts the “creative class” taking over the party — many of the “creative class” are actually members of the working class and fall into the low to moderate income category as well. Just my 2 cents on Bowers’ elitism.
My plumber has a degree in engineering. He’s making so much money he hasn’t sent me a bill though I’ve asked him to several times. It must be close to $2000. Creative, busy, and cool.
…sigh….I got a masters degree back in 1976, but I’ve never used it for anything. it was more about wanting to stay in school and not wanting to work. but now I’m in real estate and I live in Alabama, so I know I’m not one of the chosen. I’m out here in the wilderness with Pat. maybe we could form the Wilderness Party???
bostonboomer – Robinson is part of the corporate media. He is paid to do it.
I’m a professional writer/editor, but I identify with the working class. It’s a real struggle to make ends meet. If the Dems don’t represent the working class, then I need a new political party to join.