I find it quite promising that the deification of Barack Obama is staring to wear off and that we can start to look at him as a presidential candidate and not as a political messiah. Don’t get me wrong, I’m for the man all the way, but I’ve got no affinity for spiked Kool-Aid. And two developments over the last few days—one of pandering, the other of a certain gutlessness—have made it easier to avoid gulping that nasty brew.
Obama’s repudiation of MoveOn.org—specifically their “General Betray-us” ad from last year—in a speech about patriotism this past weekend, is not sitting well with me right now. Not because I’m such a champion of the powerful, left-leaning, grass-roots-mobilizing political organization—they are one of many necessary, and efficient tools in the toolbox—but because Petraeus has been indeed a political shill for this administration, and they had the guts to say it and bring out into the open. And secondly, because of how vigorously and generously MoveOn.org has laid out their support for Sen. Obama. So he throws them under the bus, for what? To court potential conservative and so-called independent votes in his favor? Does anybody REALLY think this is going to win him votes? Please. People in this country have already decided who they are voting for—polls aside, who exactly that is we’ll find out on Nov 4th—and barring a decisive scandal to weigh down either campaign, or a terrorist attack, no one’s changing their minds. So the pandering is futile and fruitless. Period.
Now, this is the one that really irks me:
When (ret.) Gen. Wesley Clark stated on the Sunday talk shows that as honorable as John McCain’s military service was, it did not make him automatically qualified to be president, what part of that was erroneous, a smear, or a fabrication? And why did Obama feel the need to change the subject by having his aide Bill Burton affirm that Obama “honors and respects Senator McCain’s service, and of course he rejects yesterday’s statement by General Clark.” Wait—why is respecting the man's sacrifice and questioning his capabilities as President based on that sacrifice, mutually exclusive? Especially if the candidate himself is relying on this part of his narrative to prop up his chances of winning the White House.
Listen, even I respect McCain’s ordeal as a POW, but why would ANYONE rationally believe that being shot down over enemy territory and being subsequently tortured is an immediate qualification for being president of the United States?! It isn’t necessarily so. And any person with a sliver of common sense knows that. So why the gutless move, Sen. Obama? Why throw Gen. Clark, the man who could make the argument without the never-served-in-uniform fallout, under the bus? To gain votes you’ll never get?
Gutless, pure and simple.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Oil Barons Deserve Music Biz Fate
Rampant, widespread music piracy/theft—also known as “file sharing”, how cute—has reduced considerably the revenue streams of the major record companies (Sony, WEA, EMI, Universal) and placed their future in a perilous predicament. But if there is any other industry that deserves this or a worse fate, it’s the oil companies with their voracious greed and complete disregard for fair business practices. But what were we to expect during an administration headed by two former oilmen, one of whom we can’t even subpoena to get the minutes of his closed door energy policy meetings. (We could if the Democrats in Congress had any kind of spine.) But that’s OK. They’ll get theirs sooner than later.
In the meantime, we can dream of a water-fuelled car decimating the fortunes of the oil companies. Far-fetched? Not so much, as it turns out; the Japanese have just invented such a thing: “an electric-powered and environmentally friendly car that…runs solely on water…” 2 pints of which can power this vehicle for “an hour at a speed of 50 mph.” Can you imagine? To quote the Beach Boys, wouldn’t it be nice? Oh, yes indeed. Let’s see if it makes it to the production stage in Japan, first, and then take it from there. Undoubtedly, this would be a beautiful thing. Of course, I realize these are baby steps—and that the evil bastards at the oil companies will spare no expense; leave no morally flexible politician unbribed; try every possible scam to fight this—but I really believe something of this nature is could come to us on a mainstream level, sooner than we think.
Oh, and speaking of oil: with our gas prices having skyrocketed, and Iraq producing 2.5 million barrels a day, why can’t we get any relief over here?
In the meantime, we can dream of a water-fuelled car decimating the fortunes of the oil companies. Far-fetched? Not so much, as it turns out; the Japanese have just invented such a thing: “an electric-powered and environmentally friendly car that…runs solely on water…” 2 pints of which can power this vehicle for “an hour at a speed of 50 mph.” Can you imagine? To quote the Beach Boys, wouldn’t it be nice? Oh, yes indeed. Let’s see if it makes it to the production stage in Japan, first, and then take it from there. Undoubtedly, this would be a beautiful thing. Of course, I realize these are baby steps—and that the evil bastards at the oil companies will spare no expense; leave no morally flexible politician unbribed; try every possible scam to fight this—but I really believe something of this nature is could come to us on a mainstream level, sooner than we think.
Oh, and speaking of oil: with our gas prices having skyrocketed, and Iraq producing 2.5 million barrels a day, why can’t we get any relief over here?
Monday, June 23, 2008
Coming Soon: NYC = Dubai
I've been telling anyone that'll listen that our native New York City is perilously inching towards becoming Dubai: one of those places where poor people can't afford to live, just come into work and then head on back out to the hinterlands at the end of the day. (And it's not just Manhattan; I doubt the outer boroughs are going to be much relief. Well, maybe Staten Island, but...you know.) And forget about them opening their own little businesses: As I understand it, not only are commercial rents here exempt from any kind of regulation but landlords are not required to pay taxes on unoccupied commercial properties. This would explain why they can wait to rent the space to the “right” tenant. If this is truly the case, perhaps commercial rents would be less exorbitant if landlords were shelling out cash from their own pockets while their properties were vacant.
The likes of Barnes and Noble and Virgin Megastores closing outlets not because they're insolvent, but because their respective landlords have greed-soaked dreams of a once-in-a-lifetime payday...is insane! But that doesn't help those of us trying to keep our apartments and not fall victims to this rampant, massive price gouging going on in this city. Last week, the NYC Rent Guidelines Board gave landlords of rent-stabilized properties a significant rent increase. Meanwhile, the housing market in all its manifestations is tanking in the rest of the country, and we're getting rent increases, with median apartment prices above the $1 million mark. Just lovely.
And what’s with all these luxury buildings/towers popping up all over the place—are people becoming newly rich by the minute? Are we actually going to make the Bloomberg administration accountable for all of this unchecked, out of control construction of garish symbols of opulence, that have already cost the lives of workers and citizens with its faulty safety precautions? Damn it—something’s gotta give! Not even the tragedy and economic downturn exacerbated by the World Trade Center attack—the economy was already in bad shape—could level the real estate/rental market. Can we do anything about this? Is it too late? Or is it gonna take another Black Friday on Wall Street to bring this situation down to earth. If that’s what it comes down to, I just hope the hard-working and truly desrving people in this city can survive it. Otherwise...
The likes of Barnes and Noble and Virgin Megastores closing outlets not because they're insolvent, but because their respective landlords have greed-soaked dreams of a once-in-a-lifetime payday...is insane! But that doesn't help those of us trying to keep our apartments and not fall victims to this rampant, massive price gouging going on in this city. Last week, the NYC Rent Guidelines Board gave landlords of rent-stabilized properties a significant rent increase. Meanwhile, the housing market in all its manifestations is tanking in the rest of the country, and we're getting rent increases, with median apartment prices above the $1 million mark. Just lovely.
And what’s with all these luxury buildings/towers popping up all over the place—are people becoming newly rich by the minute? Are we actually going to make the Bloomberg administration accountable for all of this unchecked, out of control construction of garish symbols of opulence, that have already cost the lives of workers and citizens with its faulty safety precautions? Damn it—something’s gotta give! Not even the tragedy and economic downturn exacerbated by the World Trade Center attack—the economy was already in bad shape—could level the real estate/rental market. Can we do anything about this? Is it too late? Or is it gonna take another Black Friday on Wall Street to bring this situation down to earth. If that’s what it comes down to, I just hope the hard-working and truly desrving people in this city can survive it. Otherwise...
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Kristol: Bush to Bomb Iran if Obama Wins
Appearing on Fox News Sunday, neo-con pundit and NY Times columnist William Kristol said he believed President Bush would be more than likely inclined to use military force against Iran before his presidency concludes. Especially if the next president to be is not John McCain.
Of course, this is pure speculation but observing the recurring patterns of this administration and the neo-con ideology that fuels them, we would not be at all surprised to learn of a Bush plan in this regard. Obviously putting this sort of propaganda out there is yet another attempt to discredit Barack Obama as a forceful leader both at home and on the international stage, as well as to make Israel nervous. But, it reinforces the widely-held assumption that McCain's platform is closely tied to the current administration and will in effect provide us with a third Bush term and all the accompanying negative aspects of such a presidency.
Way to go, guys: fear and warmongering in one fell swoop. Priceless.
“...if the president thought John McCain was going to be the next president, he would think it more appropriate to let the next president make that decision than do it on his way out...I do wonder with Senator Obama, if President Bush thinks Senator Obama’s going to win, does he somehow think — does he worry that Obama won’t follow through on that policy...I mean, what is, what signal goes to Ahmadinejad if Obama wins on a platform of unconditional negotiations and with an obvious reluctance to even talk about using military force.
Of course, this is pure speculation but observing the recurring patterns of this administration and the neo-con ideology that fuels them, we would not be at all surprised to learn of a Bush plan in this regard. Obviously putting this sort of propaganda out there is yet another attempt to discredit Barack Obama as a forceful leader both at home and on the international stage, as well as to make Israel nervous. But, it reinforces the widely-held assumption that McCain's platform is closely tied to the current administration and will in effect provide us with a third Bush term and all the accompanying negative aspects of such a presidency.
Way to go, guys: fear and warmongering in one fell swoop. Priceless.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
The 'Liberal' Media
One of the greatest hoaxes perpetrated by the conservative talking heads and pundits is the widespread existence of a so-called "liberal" media. They've been milking this one for a whole generation with much success, if not substance. Much has been written to plainly debunk this nonsense, with much more wit, eloquence and factual evidence than I could muster here. But suffice to say, the oppression of the masses by the lead-soled boot of the liberal media is the favorite and most successful of the "cry-wolf" stances of the morally bankrupt and opportunistic conservative charlatans. That's not to say there isn't a liberal presence in the media. Absolutely. MSNBC's Keith Olbermann is a shinning example among the ones with a liberal bent. But the bogey man of an alleged liberal media has given the blowhards on the right an excuse to form their little separatist media empire. I mean, c'mon: the one-sided nature of talk radio prompted the creation of Air America, not the other way around.
Yet, you won't hear cries of "Damn that liberal media!" when ABC's George Stephanopolous literally takes notes for a nationally televised Democratic debate from a discredited fear mongering, smear merchant like Sean Hannity; or when that same network's John Gibson decries Sen. John McCain's inability to match Sen. Barack Obama in the fundraising department. Especially when the average contribution by an Obama donor is less than $100 and McCain is counting on his lobbyist-fat cats to fuel the, ahem, Straight Talk Express. Nor do they express displeasure when lazy moderators/hosts let their right-wing foot soldiers misrepresent candidates and/or positions on any of the major networks. Liberal media, my ass.
Yet, you won't hear cries of "Damn that liberal media!" when ABC's George Stephanopolous literally takes notes for a nationally televised Democratic debate from a discredited fear mongering, smear merchant like Sean Hannity; or when that same network's John Gibson decries Sen. John McCain's inability to match Sen. Barack Obama in the fundraising department. Especially when the average contribution by an Obama donor is less than $100 and McCain is counting on his lobbyist-fat cats to fuel the, ahem, Straight Talk Express. Nor do they express displeasure when lazy moderators/hosts let their right-wing foot soldiers misrepresent candidates and/or positions on any of the major networks. Liberal media, my ass.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Quote of the Day
"...if by ...'liberal' they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people --their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties-- someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a 'liberal,' then I'm proud to say I'm a 'liberal.'"- JFK, September 14, 1960
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Limbaugh: Iowa Flood Victims Better than Katrina Victims
This what I love about--as Keith Olbermann calls him--comedian Rush Limbaugh: his racism isn't subtle, coded or concealed. No, it's out in the open, clear as day, and there for all to see.
Check this out:
"I want to know. I look at Iowa, I look at Illinois—I want to see the murders. I want to see the looting. I want to see all the stuff that happened in New Orleans. I see devastation in Iowa and Illinois that dwarfs what happened in New Orleans. I see people working together. I see people trying to save their property…I don’t see a bunch of people running around waving guns at helicopters, I don’t see a bunch of people running shooting cops. I don’t see a bunch of people raping people on the street. I don’t see a bunch of people doing everything they can…whining and moaning—where’s FEMA, where’s BUSH. I see the heartland of America. When I look at Iowa and when I look at Illinois, I see the backbone of America."Silly black people, with no common sense or decency. Right, Rush? Asshole.
Check this out:
Monday, June 16, 2008
Gore Endorses Obama
Now he does it? Who else was he going to endorse, at this stage of the game? And where was he, 3 months ago? It's not like he was avoiding disappointing the Clintons...Jeez...I guess what this really means is he himself won't throw his hat in the ring at the last minute.
Addressing the Olbermann Backlash
It turns out that ever since CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric was awarded the gold on Keith Olbermann’s nightly “Worst Persons in the World” segment, this past Wednesday night, there’s been an outbreak of indiscriminate bashing against the host of MSNBC’s Countdown. Olbermann took offense at Couric quoting out of context his colleague Lee Cowan’s reporting on the Obama campaign as proof that Sen. Hillary Clinton’s bid for the Democratic Party’s candidacy was fallen by sexism, which earned her the top spot in the popular portion of the broadcast.
The following day, numerous media outlets—among them The Huffington Post, and The LA Times—went medieval on Olbermann for his critique of Couric, but suspiciously NONE OF THEM addressed whether he was right or not. No, their concern was poor little Katie being picked on by Olbermann, not for the laziness at best, or at worst, the disingenuousness of misquoting a fellow journalist. But then again, these are the same people who lambasted Olbermann for his Special Comment on Sen. Clinton’s incredibly callous and inappropriate remarks about the livelihood of her campaign, with a hey-anything-can-happen stance which she justified by recalling that RFK was assassinated in the midst of his. That wasn’t so bad, but Olbermann harshly chastising her for saying it—and for her lack of an apology to Sen. Obama—now, that was catastrophic. Please, spare me.
Listen, I’ll fess up: I’m a fan of the man. I believe him to be the ONLY newsperson on TV with the cojones to ask the tough questions and put the Bush Administration and its ilk’s feet to the fire. No, he’s not as impartial as the late Tim Russert was, but he’s not the wuss that the rest of the mainstream media—you know, the people that dropped the ball and let this president lie us into war unchallenged—are. With the spineless, weathervanes at CNN on one side and the talking points-spewing, GOP attack dogs at Fox News on the other side, Olbermann is the best option of the three: unlike the cowards at Ted Turner’s old joint, with their desperate attempts at showing they too can carry right-wing propaganda, you know where Olbermann stands and why. And he’ll ALWAYS have a much fairer and objective analysis than the news fabricators at Murdoch’s Death Star.
Perhaps people like his colleague Tom Brokaw are not enamored with his style. In an Olbermann hatchet job, um, piece in the current New Yorker magazine, Brokaw is quoted as disappointingly characterizing Olbermann’s recent Special Comment, in which he asked President Bush to “shut the hell up”—Shrub insinuated that electing a Democrat in November would be carte blanche for terrorists to attack us; that he’d made a great sacrifice by given up golf for the troops (!!!) AND on top of it, lied about when he actually did it—as taking “it to another level.” Yes, he is, Mr. Brokaw. Unfortunately, your meek, pompous, truth-will-find-its-way-eventually approach gets ridiculed, mocked, slaughtered, and ultimately left for dead every minute of the broadcast day, either actively by Fox Nuisance and their kind; or passively by those afraid to stand up for the truth and/or unwilling to lose their insider access.
Time for a new quarterback, Jack.
The following day, numerous media outlets—among them The Huffington Post, and The LA Times—went medieval on Olbermann for his critique of Couric, but suspiciously NONE OF THEM addressed whether he was right or not. No, their concern was poor little Katie being picked on by Olbermann, not for the laziness at best, or at worst, the disingenuousness of misquoting a fellow journalist. But then again, these are the same people who lambasted Olbermann for his Special Comment on Sen. Clinton’s incredibly callous and inappropriate remarks about the livelihood of her campaign, with a hey-anything-can-happen stance which she justified by recalling that RFK was assassinated in the midst of his. That wasn’t so bad, but Olbermann harshly chastising her for saying it—and for her lack of an apology to Sen. Obama—now, that was catastrophic. Please, spare me.
Listen, I’ll fess up: I’m a fan of the man. I believe him to be the ONLY newsperson on TV with the cojones to ask the tough questions and put the Bush Administration and its ilk’s feet to the fire. No, he’s not as impartial as the late Tim Russert was, but he’s not the wuss that the rest of the mainstream media—you know, the people that dropped the ball and let this president lie us into war unchallenged—are. With the spineless, weathervanes at CNN on one side and the talking points-spewing, GOP attack dogs at Fox News on the other side, Olbermann is the best option of the three: unlike the cowards at Ted Turner’s old joint, with their desperate attempts at showing they too can carry right-wing propaganda, you know where Olbermann stands and why. And he’ll ALWAYS have a much fairer and objective analysis than the news fabricators at Murdoch’s Death Star.
Perhaps people like his colleague Tom Brokaw are not enamored with his style. In an Olbermann hatchet job, um, piece in the current New Yorker magazine, Brokaw is quoted as disappointingly characterizing Olbermann’s recent Special Comment, in which he asked President Bush to “shut the hell up”—Shrub insinuated that electing a Democrat in November would be carte blanche for terrorists to attack us; that he’d made a great sacrifice by given up golf for the troops (!!!) AND on top of it, lied about when he actually did it—as taking “it to another level.” Yes, he is, Mr. Brokaw. Unfortunately, your meek, pompous, truth-will-find-its-way-eventually approach gets ridiculed, mocked, slaughtered, and ultimately left for dead every minute of the broadcast day, either actively by Fox Nuisance and their kind; or passively by those afraid to stand up for the truth and/or unwilling to lose their insider access.
Time for a new quarterback, Jack.
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