Noam Chomsky is 78 years old today, having been born December 7, 1928.

How will you celebrate?

• Give a 5-hour lecture on power and The West. (No 30-second sound bites allowed.)

• Write a review of Hegemony and Survival on Amazon, remarking on the book’s 3000+ sales rank (thanks to Hugo Chavez’ mention of the book during his recent UN speech).

• Settle in for a quiet night, curl up on the couch, and watch Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media (1992).

• Finally dive in and try to figure out what the hell Chomsky and Foucault were saying to one another during their (in)famous 1971 debate. Video included as an extra with Manufacturing Consent. (And when you figure it out, tell me. I’ve taught this to graduate students, and I still don’t fathom the depths. While you are at it, amuse yourself with the knowledge that Foucault would surely be pissed that his name appears second on the title of the 2006 book about the event.)

• Carefully compose a greeting for his 80th birthday. For his 70th birthday, Z Magazine received 2000+ messages. You can see a random sampling of Noam Chomsky birthday greetings. Then, remember that you have two years, but why wait?

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The Iraq Study Group Report. It has dominated the news today. Who says what? What are the comments? How was the book published? What does the report itself say?

It says Iraq is in the midst of a grave and deteriorating crisis. It says Bush policies have failed. According to polls, Americans agree. (All but the red blogging Americans, apparently.) Gore assures Bush the people’s opinions are not about him. Peter Hart of FAIR encourages the media to broaden the debate during the inevitable week of prime time coverage. I haven’t read the report yet, so I don’t know if the report considers the real costs of the war.

The report is downloadable on NPR or for sale in book format on Amazon. There are even reviews on Amazon. The readers bought, received, and read the report already? It was only printed Saturday night and delivered to stores on Monday morning.

Of course, the content of the report blends perfectly with the hearings and Senate vote on the nomination of Robert Gates to be the new Secretary of Defense. I listened to the Armed Services Committee hearings yesterday. As many noted, the committee embraced Gates (even though the Democratic Underground didn’t). I think I heard Hillary Clinton blow him a kiss.

All of the Senators were certainly senatorially polite. Several of them thanked him for his candor. I’m sure that does create a completely shocking new tone to be able to even dream that a Republican nominee would admit that Iraq is a violent mess and staying the course is not a viable option, while all other options remain on the table.

As I listened to him, I wondered if George Bush, a famously stubbon president, would listen to Gates if he made the same observations to Bush. As I listened to coverage of the Iraq Study Group Report, I wondered whether he would actually and personally read it. And, if he does read it, will he genuinely consider the recommendations of his close allies? Given the responses and the insistence that the administration hasn’t used the phrase “stay the course” for three weeks nows (wow, three whole weeks), it seems possible.

Nevertheless, call me skeptical.

Tomorrow the Armed Services Committee will hear testimony on the Iraq Study Group. Hugs and kisses all around.

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I wasn’t surprised to read that recent documentary films rattle the business world. Movies like Supersize Me and Fahrenheit 9/11 drew crowds at commercial theatres. I saw both of these films in theaters when they were first released. Black Gold, a film about the international coffee industry and the idea of fair trade, is currently being shown at festivals and art houses across the U.S. Iraq for Sale made the rounds earlier this Fall. One of the interesting ways Robert Greenwald’s Iraq for Sale was publicized was through personal and political networks arranging showings at house parties and community centers. The movie is still in the news with war profiteers attempting to intimidate Greenwald.

It has been my experience that people have a good time watching these films. This isn’t a painful dose of political medicine. I remember reading an interview with Michael Moore about Roger and Me in which he said he makes the films he would like to see on a Saturday night. I can buy that. I have–several times. Laugh and learn at the same time. Sometimes the average dumb movie is a mind-numbing relief, but laughing at Morgan Spurlock puking out the window of his car as he chokes down a Big Mac has its own appeal in the average-dumb-movie category.

I have Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price from the library. That’s my entertainment for the week. Part of the fun is knowing how much it angers global corporate executives that they don’t have complete control over their public images.

What are you watching?

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Come on. Have you been shopping in the past week? Did you at least Buy Local? I did. I bought books at King’s English–great place to spend a day and a dollar.

If you must buy gifts this season, I have a couple of my favorite gifts and online stores to recommend.

• Flying Spaghetti Monster emblem from Evolve Fish. Nothing says, “I am in a world of my own” like the noodly appendage on your car. I keep buying emblems for my car and end up giving them away to people who deserve them at least as much as I do. I sure wish my so-called church had chosen to put on a Flying Spaghetti Monster Holiday Pageant rather than a completely predictable display of religion that so few of the children will be able to relate to in any way.

• Gardening When It Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times from AK Press. Why not give a practical guide to low-input gardening? I was given this book recently. It addresses gardening in a way that someone like me, not used to gardening beyond tomatoes and chili peppers, can wrap myself around low-tech, low water food production in the space I have. The book is published by New Society Publishers and Mother Earth News, but I suggest buying it from AK Press because I like them.

• 2007 Peace Calendar from Syracuse Cultural Workers. For several years I have given the peace calendar as a gift to my most peaceful friends. The images are striking. Printed by union labor. You can buy a Teacher’s Guide. All around useful gift. They have a lot of great posters and cards, but I end up opting for this calendar every year.

Better yet, make a gift with your own hands or give the gift of time (give a lesson, cook a meal). I love gifts. I wouldn’t suggest that people NOT give gifts as tokens of their love and care. I am suggesting that it’s possible to give a great gift with both personal and global meaning (or lack thereof in the case of the Flying Spaghetti Monster).

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I’m not sure I can pass the new naturalization exam, even with a graduate degree in the general areas covered.

As of Thursday, November 30, 2006, there is a list of 144 sample questions that emphasizes concepts and meanings rather than simple answers. Some say the test increases the burden of new immigrants who want to become citizens.

My spouse, a non-U.S. citizen, just took the test. Of 144 questions, spouse got the following seven answers wrong.

.

22. The House of Representatives has how many voting members?

A: 435

54. What is one thing only a state government can do?

A: Provide schooling and education
A: Provide protection (police)
A: Provide safety (fire departments)
A: Give a driver’s license
A: Approve zoning and land use

55. What does it mean that the U.S. Constitution is a constitution of limited powers?

A: The federal government has only the powers that the Constitution states that it has.
A: The states have all powers that the federal government does not.

90. When was the Constitution drafted?

A: 1787

100. Name one of the writers of the Federalist Papers?

A: James Madison
A: Alexander Hamilton
A: John Jay

114. Who was President during World War I?

A: Woodrow Wilson

132. What is the tallest mountain in the United States?

A: Mt. McKinley
A: Denali

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