Baron Dave Romm
Post Debate Thoughts 3
By Baron Dave Romm
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Immediate reaction to the second presidential debate: Everyone heard what they wanted to hear, again
I tend to watch the debates on C-SPAN or PBS for unfiltered coverage. It's profoundly weird switching channels and seeing CNN on a several seconds delay. Perhaps they think one of the candidates is going to have a wardrobe malfunction. Perhaps their computingpower isn't fast enough to keep up with the little squiggles at the bottom of the screen.
Digression: Why we need to see the instant reactions of people so dumb they haven't made up their mind is an example of creating immediacy where none exists. CNN and most of the cable news channels operate best when covering a breaking news event. Airplanes flying into buildings, stock market crashes, slow moving Ford Broncos. Unfortunately, they're really really bad at covering almost anything else. The cable news channels desperately need you to be on the edge of your seat, sweating over who shot JR. Coverage of politics requires a horserace. Preferably, a photo finish. Failing excitement, they'll push their conservative agenda to satisfy the owners and advertisers. Integrity and journalism take a back seat to whipping up fear. It sells soap. And too often it sells lies.
Okay, where was I? Oh yes, the debate.
Watching live, Obama was presidential and McCain was merely competent. My housemate came home and wanted to see the debate again, and I watched out of the corner of my eye as I worked on the computer. Second time through, McCain looked much worse and Obama much better. McCain was nervous and occasionally nasty. Neither of those things disqualifies him from being president, but if he wants to convince people he's not an erratic liar he has to sound like he could be in charge. The disadvantage of being a "maverick" is that you are, pretty much by definition, not a very good leader.
A pure example: McCain says, "I know how to find bin Laden." Well, when were you planning on telling us? You were in the Senate for 26 years. Were you so much of a "maverick" that no one listens to the Senate Co-Chair, National Security Caucus? Sorry John, you just admitted you should never be in charge.
One example: McCain repeatedly accused Obama of voting for spending $3 on an "overhead projector". That is a half-truth and an out-and-out lie. First of all, while Obama voted for the bill, it didn't pass and the $3 million was never a federal earmark. More importantly, the conservative's refusal to live in the world G_d created is in play here. The Adler Planetarium's Zeiss Mark IV projector for the very successful SkyDome is a full dome projections system. If McCain actually believes what his attack dogs have inserted into his rants, he's an idiot.
Meanwhile, Obama was doing well. He was marginally better in the first debate. In this one, Obama was more on the attack, and less willing to take guff from McCain. Obama is passionate and confident and in command of a wide range of issues.
Through two debates, we've seen two good people make their case to the public and we've seen that one is clearly the right choice for president.
We've also seen that Obama's choice for VP is a very good one and McCain's choice for VP is slimy, hateful, inexperienced and corrupt.
Palin pals around with terrorists
As usual, whenever a Republican accuses a Democrat of something, the Republican is doing exactly that, but far, far worse.
Many reports are coming in of Sarah Palin's ties to the American Independence Party. When she says "America First", she is lying. She's with the ant-American anti-environmentalist gun nuts. Max Blumenthal and David Neiwart, over at salon.com, invite you to Meet Sarah Palin's radical right-wing pals. Here is Plutonium Page's DailyKos Diary, Praise The Lord And Pass The Ammunition: Sarah Palin's Extremist Ties
The ad that ABC is too scared to run
The conservative news media is aiding and abetting some very evil people. ABC news refuses to run this ad: Alliance for Climate Protection's Repower America. This link will take you to a page where you can watch the video and send an e-mail to ABC.
Republicans believe lies and don't believe the truth
As Lincoln said, you can fool all of the people some of the time and some of the people all of the time, but you can't fool all the people all the time. After thirty years of Newt and GOPAC, and eight years of Bush/Cheney, the right wing slime machine is just not working anymore. Oh to be sure, the empty barrel makes the most noise. As the number of conservatives gets smaller and smaller, the remaining ones are getting nastier and more disgusting. With Bush's approval ratings at 19% in some polls, you have to wonder: Who is so stupid as to approve of this administration?
Debunking claims you might hear about Obama, from the Obama campaign, all the e-mail lies.
When you hear one of the extremists froth at the mouth about one lie or another, don't repeat it. Don't engage them in their lies. That only reinforces the lie. Change the subject to the truth. That will confuse them. You probably won't change their mind -- sphincter conservatives don't think -- but you'll lay the groundwork for epiphanies in the future.
Baron Dave Romm is a conceptual artist and a noble of Ladonia who produces Shockwave Radio Theater, writes in a Live Journal demi-blog, plays with a very weird CD collection and an ever growing list of political links. Dave Romm reviews things at random for obscure web sites. You can read all his music recommendations from Bartcop-E. Podcasts of Shockwave Radio Theater. Permanent archive. More radio programs, interviews and science fiction humor plays can be accessed on the Shockwave Radio audio page.
Thanks to everyone who has sent me music to play on the air.
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The Weekly Poll
This week's poll:
OJ... Will it ever end?
OK, Poll-Fans, here it is...
1.) Did OJ get a fair trial? If yes, how long should he be sentenced?
2.) If no, what should be the basis for his appeal?
Go ahead, let us know how you REALLY feel!
BadtotheboneBob
Send your responses to BadtotheBoneBob (BCEpoll (at) aol.com)
Results tomorrow
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Nat Hentoff: "The Next American Revolution: When It Becomes Necessary To Bring King George to Justice" (villagevoice.com)
When, in the course of human events, it can't wait any longer.
Feeling panicky? Here are four reasons not to overreact
When the market indexes plunge and your portfolio shrinks, it's natural to think about bailing out of your investments, particularly stocks. But before you head for the exits, consider four reasons why sticking with your investment plan, and resisting the temptation to sell, may be your smartest move.
Froma Harrop: Why Independents Care So Much About Health Care (creators.com)
Political independents now rank health care second among the issues they most want the presidential candidates to discuss, according to a Kaiser Health Tracking Poll for September. The No. 1 issue for independents, as well as for Democrats and Republicans, is the economy.
Froma Harrop: McCain Economics Still Bush League (creators.com)
Take a great nation with a fabulous work ethic and inventive people. Turn its $236 billion budget surplus into an estimated $482 billion deficit, and nearly double the national debt to $10 trillion. In the meantime, fuel economic growth with a consumer-led borrowing binge that makes America beholden to China. And in the course of encouraging a housing bubble, undermine any regulations that would temper speculation and protect the vulnerable. Here you have it, the United States of America in the eight years of George W. Bush.
Susan Estrich: A Great Line (creators.com)
I'm happy to give my friend Madeleine Albright credit for the line, as Starbucks apparently has. But the truth is I've been using it for years in speeches to women about how we need to help each other get ahead in business, politics and academia. Katie Couric quoted it a year or so ago in a commencement speech, giving me the credit for it. And yes, in my version, it's not just about women "helping" women but actually "supporting" each other, as in: "There's a special place in hell (not just a place, but a special place) for women who don't support each other."
"The Lizard King: The True Crimes and Passions of the World's Greatest Reptile Smugglers: by Bryan Christy: A Review by Doug Brown
Academics commonly don't reveal the exact location of their study sites to keep the pet-trade people from descending and taking all the animals. This happened when Carl Kauffeld made the Okeetee Hunt Club in South Carolina famous in his classic "Snakes: The Keeper and the Kept." The world flooded in, and now corn snakes and scarlet kingsnakes are sparse on the ground in that patch of Jasper County. E
The comedians entertaining the troops (timesonline.co.uk)
War is no joke, but our coolest young comedians are finding a ready audience at the front, finds Stephen Armstrong.
David Medske: A Chat with pianist and main songwriter Tim Rice-Oxley of Keane (bullz-eye.com)
Bullz-Eye spoke with pianist and main songwriter Tim Rice-Oxley about whether the third album is harder to make than the second album, the state of singer Tom Chaplin (who's popping in and out of rehab between tours), and watching the mad genius that is Jon Brion in action.
IRENE MESSINA: Relationships without arguments? Bill White claims that it's possible (tucsonweekly.com)
A woman--clad in a hat, a stylish suit, seamed nylons and high heels--sits alone in a busy restaurant. She smokes a cigarette and scans the crowd with her sultry eyes. Suddenly, a mysterious stranger enters the room. He's handsome and sharply dressed in a suit and fedora. Their eyes meet. She blushes. He walks over, gently takes her hand and says hello. A beautiful love affair begins.
wrote:
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny, but cooler than seasonal.
Not A Palin Fan
Salman Rushdie
British author Salman Rushdie branded US vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin as a "joke" Sunday and said naming her as Republican John McCain's running mate was a "colossal misjudgement".
"I think she's a joke. I mean I always thought, she's a bad joke," he said. "But I always thought it was a colossal misjudgement of McCain's to appoint her as his running mate because she's not even borderline competent and what we know about her, or increasingly what we are beginning to know about her, is how very, very, very far to the right she is."
Rushdie conceded there was one benefit to her arrival on the national political stage -- as fodder for US comedian Tina Fey, who bears an uncanny likeness to Palin and has mercilessly impersonated her on television.
"She has enabled Tina Fey to carry out some of the greatest political satire that anybody has carried out in America in my memory and everybody loves Tina Fey but now I think she's a national heroine," the writer said.
Salman Rushdie
All Is Forgiven
Dave Letterman
David Letterman and Sen. John McCain will get a chance to make up.
The Republican presidential candidate is scheduled to appear on Letterman's "Late Show" on Thursday.
It will be McCain's 13th visit to the CBS program but his first since he angered Letterman by canceling last month.
Dave Letterman
Protest 42-Day Detentions
42 Writers
Dozens of renowned British writers came out against new anti-terrorism legislation Sunday, publishing a collection of satire, essays, fiction and poetry to protest a proposal allowing police to hold suspects without charge for up to 42 days.
Forty-two authors including Monica Ali, Julian Barnes, Ian Rankin, Alain de Botton, and A.L. Kennedy contributed to a collection posted online a day ahead of a critical parliamentary vote on the issue.
Ali, who won widespread acclaim for her first novel "Brick Lane," wrote a satirical dialogue between a grandmother and a child who asks if it's true that "in the olden days" if police arrested you "they had to say what you'd done wrong?"
The human rights group Liberty coordinated the protest. The group's director, Shami Chakrabarti, said no writer who was approached by the group turned down the opportunity.
42 Writers
Tribute Concert
Luciano Pavarotti
Some of the world's biggest classical and pop music stars are performing at a private benefit concert in Jordan to honour the late Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti.
Proceeds of the concert in the the ancient red-rock city of Petra are going to aid Afghan refugees.
Placido Domingo, Andrea Bocelli and Sting are among the headliners paying tribute to the opera legend.
Jordan's Princess Haya, a United Nations messenger of peace, and Pavarotti's widow, Nicoletta Mantovani, helped organize Sunday's concert.
Luciano Pavarotti
250th Birthday
Noah Webster
The announcement came in 1800 in the back of a Connecticut newspaper just above a farmer's reward for a stray cow. A man named Noah Webster was proposing the first comprehensive "dictionary of the American language."
Webster was mocked and scorned for challenging the King's English. About 60 percent of the country spoke English at the time, while others spoke German, Swedish and Dutch. Even among English speakers, regional dialects were strong.
A teacher after the Revolutionary War, Webster believed that Americans should have their own textbooks rather than rely on English books. He created a speller that taught students to read, spell and pronounce words and traveled around the country to promote the book.
Webster is the focus of a commemoration Oct. 16-17 at Yale University to mark his 250th birthday with lectures, an exhibition of memorabilia and a visit to his grave in New Haven.
Noah Webster
Tops Tear-Jerker List
'Bambi'
Walt Disney's Bambi has been named the best tear-jerker of all time.
Fans have included Sir Paul McCartney, who credited the animated classic with turning him vegetarian.
Mystic romance Ghost, starring Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore, came second.
Another animated Disney film, The Lion King, was third, sharing its place with Steven Spielberg's ET.
'Bambi'
Big Prime Time Buy
Obama Campaign
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's campaign has purchased a half-hour slot on prime-time television on October 29, six days before the U.S. election, a campaign official said.
The campaign has deals with CBS and NBC to run the special, while Fox will also air it if the network is not broadcasting a baseball World Series game that day, Obama senior adviser Linda Douglass said.
She said the campaign was negotiating with other networks to run the half-hour program, but declined to say how much the total budget was for the purchases.
Obama Campaign
6,356 Decks In NY Collection
Playing Cards
The collection spans 50 countries and four centuries and touches on subjects ranging from beer marketing to 19th-century Portuguese politics.
Columbia University has a collection of playing cards that is among the world's largest, a trove of 6,356 decks that the Ivy League institution painstakingly catalogued this spring after they were donated to the school by an eccentric collector.
Ranging from simple woodblock prints from 1550s Austria to a 1963 American pack with admiring caricatures of the Kennedy family, the collection isn't just a novelty, but a rich, if offbeat, resource for research. Scholars say cards can be useful records of social history, depicting how cultural touchstones, political figures and historical events were seen in their times.
Playing Cards
Supporting Gurkhas
Joanna Lumley
Actress Joanna Lumley has called on the Government to "honour our debt" and support moves which would allow all retired Gurkhas to live in the UK.
Last month a High Court judge ruled the Government's immigration policy excluding them was unlawful and in need of urgent review.
More than 2,000 former Gurkha soldiers have been refused permission to settle in the UK because they retired before July 1997. The Nepalese fighters are now pressurising Parliament to implement new policy.
Miss Lumley, whose father served with the Gurkhas for 30 years, said: "I will be in Portcullis House asking for MPs on all sides of the House to support this bill and our Gurkha heroes. The fact that the bill has enjoyed cross Party support in the Lords is a magnificent and hopeful sign.
Joanna Lumley
Loebner Artificial Intelligence Prize
University of Reading
Computers argued, cracked jokes and parried trick questions Sunday, all part of an annual test of artificial intelligence carried out at the University of Reading.
Typing away at split-screen terminals, a dozen volunteers carried out two conversations at once: one with a chat program, the other with a human. After five minutes, they were asked to say which was which. Some were not sure who - or what - they were talking to.
"There was one time when I was speaking to the two, and there was an element of humor in both conversations. That's the one that stumped me more than others," said Ian Andrews, one of the judges in Reading, just west of London.
Fred Roberts' Elbot scooped the day's top award: the Loebner Artificial Intelligence Prize's bronze medal, for duping three out of 12 judges assigned to evaluate it.
University of Reading
Weekend Box Office
'Beverly Hills Chihuahua'
Disney's family comedy "Beverly Hills Chihuahua," with Drew Barrymore providing the voice of the pooch, was the No. 1 flick for the second-straight weekend with $17.5 million, raising its 10-day total to $52.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The weekend's No. 2 flick - the fright film "Quarantine," which debuted with $14.2 million - filled the escapism needs for the horror crowd. The Sony Screen Gems release centers on a contagion that turns an apartment building's tenants into flesh-hungry monsters.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "Beverly Hills Chihuahua," $17.5 million.
2. "Quarantine," $14.2 million.
3. "Body of Lies," $13.1 million.
4. "Eagle Eye," $11 million.
5. "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist," $6.5 million.
6. "The Express," $4.7 million.
7. "Nights in Rodanthe," $4.6 million.
8. "Appaloosa," $3.34 million.
9. "The Duchess," $3.32 million.
10. "City of Ember," $3.2 million.
'Beverly Hills Chihuahua'
In Memory
Gil Stratton
One of the biggest voices in Los Angeles broadcasting history is still, with the death of Gil Stratton Saturday at his Toluca Lake home. He was 86.
Stratton spend decades appearing on KNXT, and then KCBS Channel 2, and reporting for KNX on stories ranging from the arrival of the Dodgers to the Lakers "showtime" era.
In 1961, Stratton became an integral part of the nation's first regular television newscast longer than 15 minutes: Channel 2's hour-long "The Big News." Stratton and cohorts Jerry Dunphy and Bill Keene owned the early-evening Los Angeles television airwaves for that decade, and became the prototype news team for local TV stations across the country.
He was also the broadcast voice of the Los Angeles Rams for their early years, and was frequently tabbed to call sports remotes on the CBS television network.
Arriving in Hollywood in 1943, Stratton landed several big radio jobs,but put his career on hiatus for a spin as an Army Air Corps bombardier.
The vet then made the rounds of major radio networks shows originating from Hollywood, including "Lux Radio Theater," "The Great Gildersleeve," and "My Little Margie." He played opposite Judy Garland in a 1950 radio adaptation of "The Wizard of Oz."
He also appeared in 40 movies, and shared an Academy Award for his role as "Cookie" Cook in 1953's "Stalag 17." He played "Mouse," an outlaw motorcyclist, next to Marlon Brando in 1954's "The Wild One," and at times starred with Cary Grant, Shirley Temple, Marilyn Monroe and William Holden.
At Channel 2, Stratton won five local Emmys and seven Golden Mike awards from the Radio-Television News Association.
He left the air in 1997, but continued charity work and teaching broadcasting students at Cal State Northridge. The newborn nursery at Henry Mayo Hospital in Newhall is named after him, in honor of the charity golf tournaments he hosted to raise funds.
Gil Stratton
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