Baron Dave Romm
2008 Election Aftermath
By Baron Dave Romm
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I didn't vote for Obama because he's black
To be sure, that he is visibly different from the disasterous George W. Bush is a major plus. More than just a worldwide symbol, he literally puts a new face on American politics. Some people voted for him because of his skin color, and some people voted against him for the same reason.
The change his appearance represents was a factor in my support, but not the main one. Or in the top five. I would never have voted for Colin Powell running as a Repubican just for the symbolic change. We needed a real change in leadership, and we got it.
Barack Obama's position on virtually all issues is the right one, from my point of view, while McCain's position on virtually all issues was the wrong one. From the Iraq War to global warming to the economy to terrorism to the DoJ and so on and so forth, Obama's position is very close to my own. And, often, the diametric opposite of Bush or McCain. This is why I voted for Obama, and this is why I'm happy he won.
Again, the symbolism of a black president cannot be overstated. More important, we got the right president.
We know what Republicans will do: They will lie
Here we are, a few days after the election, and already the extreme elements of the Republican party are whining. Conservatives can dish it out, but they can't take it.
They're accusing -- accusing -- a Democratic administration of being staffed by people from the previous administration. After one selection! Completely forgetting that the most recent Republcan admnistration was largely staffed by people from previous Republican administrations. From Dick Cheney to Colin Powell, Bush Lite tapped people with previous executive branch experience... and then didnt listen to most of them. One of Obama's great strengths is how he chooses his advisors, and how he takes the advice of people who know more than he does.
It's clear that the radical right hasn't forgotten the 90s, when they mercilessly hounded Bill Clinton. Clinton's crime? Eight years of peace and prosperity. Clinton was a moderate, who ran the economy more like Reagan's 1980 promises than any Republican. He was only okay on environmental issues. He was excellent on foreign policy and and made a terrific Commander-In-Chief.
What the hatemongers got out of the 90s was personal glory and a divided country. Rush Limbaugh, Jesse Helms, Fox "News", Bob Barr, Drudge and hate radio, to name a few, represented the worst of America. They were only in it for the money. The more they could get people to hate other Americans, the more they could get campaign contributions or high-paying contracts. It was disgusting... and it worked.
The hatemongers are going to try to relive their glory times. Get ready for an unpleasant eight years. I wish the babies would grow up.
Bush ran effectively as a "uniter, not a divider" and them proceeded to be the most divisive president since Andrew Johnson. Meanwhile, John McCain wanted to be Bill Clinton: Strong military leadership, balanced budget, reach across the aisle, not a Bush.
And no one believed poor McCain. He simultaneously claimed to be a "maverick" and a "leader". No, it doesn't work that way: Pick one. He touted his long experience, a great strength, while completely reversing almost all important positions he'd held over the years. No, it doesn't work that way: Pick one.
What's different now than in the 90s is the dominance of the web and the information tools everyone has. The pool of extreme right-wingers is smaller, and their target audience is skeptical. Obama brings hope, even to former Republicans.
Obama has a mandate to tackle liberal issues
The main GOP attack on Barack Obama said that he was the most liberal senator. Because of that argument, Obama won all elements of the country, in all areas of the country.
Obama's victory is a liberal victory. A moderate liberal victory, perhaps, yet more liberal than either Carter or Clinton. Obama has larger Senate and House majorities than either of the last two Democratic presidents, and many of those Democrats, like Obama, won because they ran "progressive" campaigns and their opponents insisted they were "liberal".
None of this "govern from the center-right" nonsense.
Conservatives have an astonishingly short attention span, and can often be dismissed because they ignore too much reality. Case in point. The 2008 elections weren't just about Obama and liberal Democrats booting out Bush and conservatives. The 2008 elections were a continuation of the 2006 revolution. In two elections, the Senate went from being in Republican control by a margin of 55-45 (counting independents who caucus with the Democrats) to a Democratic margin of 57-40 with three outstanding. The Democrats hold their slim chance of a filibuster-proof majority. That's a large shift in the electorate. The House has a similar swing. The Gingrich/Bush Republicans "majority" was razor thin. Before the 2006 elections, Republicans narrowly held the House 229-201. After the 2008 elections, Democrats hold the House 255-174, with six seats still undecided. 54 out of 435 in the House is a similar swing to the 12 our of 100 in the Senate, with many races close.
The Republican brand is tarnished. The Democratic brand is shining.
Conventional wisdom: Conservatives are people who don't realize that they've lost. Liberals are people who don't realize that they've won. The conservative machine will sleaze on. Too many Republicans don't believe in Democracy. Meanwhile, Democrats need to pull together to take advantage of their enormous victory. I don't have a lot of hope, and Obama will have as much trouble with his own party as he will with the goppies. I wish him luck.
RNC Photo Gallery up
As I write this I'm not quite done, but I'm getting there, By the time you read this I'll be even more done, so I might as well announce it to loyal Bartcop-E readers before it goes public:
KFAI/Shockwave Radio Theater coverage of the 2008 Republcan National Convention. Photo Gallery with 265 pictures and links to all 40 of the interviews I did in four days.Relive those thrilling days of yesteryear...
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.
The Weekly Poll
Results Delayed
Has there been a particular book or movie that you can say truly changed your life?
Results on hold. Bob's in the hospital.
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Oliver Burkeman: Palin in spotlight as Republicans turn on each other (guardian.co.uk)
Right tears itself apart in pinning blame for McCain's defeat.
Roger Ebert: I'm gonna miss her now she's gone
I can't see Sarah Palin as vice president, but I have no trouble imagining her as an Emmy winner. I'm not being satirical. She and John McCain kicked butt on Saturday Night Live. They were terrific. How good were they? They were better than Tina Fey and Darrell Hammond.
Susan Estrich: Yes He Did (creators.com)
Four years ago, he was a State senator from Illinois. Four years ago, the idea of electing a black man as president of the United States was a fantasy. This belongs to you, Barack Obama told his supporters. And it did, in the way any presidential Š
FROMA HARROP: The Landslide That Doesn't Feel All Liberal (creators.com)
The young and minority voters who swept Democrats to triumph call this the start of a new day. The many not-young whites who also backed Barack Obama might frame it a bit differently. To them, it's a hopeful return to an older day. Do not dismiss Š
Susan Estrich: The Bitter End (creators.com)
For many California voters, especially those who supported Barack Obama's presidential bid, election night had a bright beginning and a bitter end. The state overwhelmingly supported the next president. There was no "Bradley effect"
FROMA HARROP: Helping the Right 'Homeowners' (creators.com)
The Treasury Department is working on a $40 billion, $50 billion - who's counting anymore? - plan to guarantee perhaps 3 million "at-risk" mortgages. Now that the Wall Street players have been taken care of, the time has apparently come to bail out some little people.
Mark Morford: It's God's fault (sfgate.com)
The cruel success of Prop. 8? Not Newsom, not gays. Blame You Know Who.
Roger Ebert: Your flag decal won't get you into heaven any more
Here I was all set to go Elitist on the country singer Lee Greenwood, and I pulled the rug out from under myself. I shared Rachel Maddow's incredulity that the limping duck George W. Bush had appointed Greenwood to the National Council of the Arts. I even had my first two sentences written in my head: "Remember how the Bush takeover squad at the White House complained the Clintonites had unplugged all the PCs on their way out the door? As he steadfastly marches toward his own sunset, it is Bush himself who seems unplugged."
Roger Ebert: The pot and how to use it
First, get the Pot. You need the simplest rice cooker made. It comes with two speeds: Cook, and Warm. Not expensive. Now you're all set to cook meals for the rest of your life on two square feet of counter space, plus a chopping block. No, I am not putting you on the Rice Diet. Eat what you like. I am thinking of you, student in your dorm room. You, solitary writer, artist, musician, potter, plumber, builder, hermit. You, parents with kids. You, night watchman. You, obsessed computer programmer or weary web-worker. You, lovers who like to cook together but don't want to put anything in the oven. You, in the witness protection program. You, nutritional wingnut. You, in a wheelchair.
And, Joe S answered:
Purple Gene Suggests
'paint the white house black'
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny and very windy.
Nurse in Times Square War Photo
Edith Shain
A 90-year-old who says she's the woman being kissed by a sailor in Times Square in one of World War II's most famous photographs reunited in town with the Navy on Sunday - days before she is to serve as grand marshal of the city's Veterans Day parade.
Edith Shain of Los Angeles, donning a white nurse's uniform like the one she wore back in 1945, went to see the musical revival of "South Pacific" and posed for pictures, being hoisted off her feet on stage by five of the actors in their Navy whites.
On Tuesday, she'll ride in the parade at the head of a contingent of World War II veterans.
The "South Pacific" event was a touching reminder of history, but very different from Aug. 15, 1945, the day Shain recalls that she joined thousands of people whooping it up after Japan surrendered. Right there on Broadway and 45th Street, a sailor suddenly grabbed and kissed her - and the moment was caught by Alfred Eisenstaedt, a Life magazine photographer.
Edith Shain
A Dying Breed In New England
GOP
A generation ago the Republican Party was the dominant political force in New England, populating the region's congressional delegations with moderates like Connecticut's Lowell P. Weicker Jr. and Rhode Island's John Chafee.
But today's GOP, led by a more socially conservative religiously insane wing of the party, is finding votes harder to come by.
Voters on Tuesday cast out Connecticut's veteran Rep. Chris Shays, the last New England Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives. Sen. John Sununu was voted out in New Hampshire, leaving that state's Judd Gregg and Maine's Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe as the only Republicans among the region's 12 senators.
New England's decision to "go the other way" in recent elections is a dramatic transformation for a region considered a Republican stronghold a generation ago.
GOP
Glad To Be French
Carla Bruni-Sarkozy
French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy says she is glad not to be Italian any more after hearing Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi joke about U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's "suntan."
Italian-born Bruni-Sarkozy, a top model turned pop singer who wed French President Nicolas Sarkozy in February after a whirlwind romance, became a French national and lost her Italian citizenship after her marriage.
In an interview with French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche published on Sunday, she criticized Berlusconi for saying on Thursday that Obama, who will be the first black U.S. president, was "handsome, young and also suntanned."
"When I hear Silvio Berlusconi making light of the event (Obama's election) and joking about the fact that Obama is 'always tanned', it feels strange to me," Bruni-Sarkozy was quoted as saying.
"Some people will no doubt put it down to humor, but often I find that I am pleased to have become French," she said.
Carla Bruni-Sarkozy
Paparazzo Pioneer
Ron Galella
A Hollywood paparazzo famous for being sued by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and getting his teeth knocked out by Marlon Brando is unapologetic about the guerrilla celebrity photography culture he helped pioneer.
But Ron Galella, who at 77 still has an active press pass, says he has little interest in being part of a celebrity photo industry that now values controversy over glamour.
Galella says the paparazzi business has changed since his heyday.
"The photographers today ... they go for bad pictures, cellulite. I think it's a negative thing," he said.
Ron Galella
Baby News
Willow Katherine White
"Eagle Eye" star Michelle Monaghan and her husband Peter White have welcomed a baby girl named Willow Katherine in Los Angeles.
Willow, who was born Wednesday, is the couple's first child. The 32-year-old Monaghan married White, a graphic designer, in August 2005. They began dating after meeting in a New York City bar.
Monaghan co-stars with Shia LaBeouf in the thriller "Eagle Eye." Her screen credits also include "Made of Honor," "Gone Baby Gone," Mission: Impossible III," "North Country," "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" and "Constantine."
Willow Katherine White
Peru To Sue For Inca Artifacts
Yale
Peru has reportedly approved a plan to sue Yale for thousands of Inca artifacts excavated by a U.S. scholar at Machu Picchu.
State newspaper El Peruano said Sunday the Justice Ministry will assign a prosecutor to press the government's case against the Connecticut university.
It did not say when or where such a suit would be filed. Government officials could not immediately be reached to confirm the information.
Peru and Yale reached an agreement in 2008, but it fell through over a dispute over how many artifacts were to be returned.
Yale
Shortage Delays Road Repairs Nationwide
Asphalt
Expect a bumpier drive. An asphalt shortage is delaying road maintenance projects in communities nationwide. Asphalt is becoming scarce as U.S. refiners overhaul their equipment to maximize output of highly profitable fuels such as diesel and gasoline, using inexpensive - and hard to process - crude oil.
To make things worse, refiners are also cutting back on the production of a petrochemical that many states mix into asphalt to make roads more durable.
Dozens of road repairs were delayed last summer and municipalities around the country may face another shortfall next summer. Road-maintenance projects that have gone forward cost significantly more as the price of asphalt nearly tripled over the past year.
The dearth of asphalt compounds the challenges states, counties and cities already face in fixing bridges, highways, local streets and other critical infrastructure at a time when budgets are squeezed by falling income, sales and real-estate tax revenues - not to mention higher costs for fuel, steel and other raw materials.
Asphalt
Can Interfere With Heart Devices
Music Headphones
Have a pacemaker or an implanted defibrillator? Don't keep your iPod earbuds in your shirt pocket or draped around your neck - even when they're disconnected. A study finds that some headphones can interfere with heart devices if held very close to them.
They might even prevent a defibrillator from delivering a lifesaving shock, say doctors who tested them.
"Headphones contain magnets, and some of these magnets are powerful," said the study's leader, Dr. William Maisel, a cardiologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and a heart device consultant to the federal Food and Drug Administration.
"I certainly don't think people should overreact to this information," but it's smart to keep small electronics at least a few inches from implanted medical devices, and not let someone wearing headphones lean against your chest if you have one, he said.
Music Headphones
Brawl At Christian Holy Site
Monks
Israeli police rushed into one of Christianity's holiest churches Sunday and arrested two clergyman after an argument between monks erupted into a brawl next to the site of Jesus' tomb.
The clash between Armenian and Greek Orthodox monks broke out in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, revered as the site of Jesus' crucifixion, burial and resurrection.
The brawling began during a procession of Armenian clergymen commemorating the 4th-century discovery of the cross believed to have been used to crucify Jesus.
The Greeks objected to the march without one of their monks present, fearing that otherwise, the procession would subvert their own claim to the Edicule - the ancient structure built on what is believed to be the tomb of Jesus - and give the Armenians a claim to the site.
Monks
Weekend Box Office
`Madagascar'
Families herded into movie theaters for another trek with stranded zoo animals as the animated sequel "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" led the weekend with a $63.5 million debut, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Premiering in second place with $19.3 million was the Universal Pictures comedy "Role Models," starring Seann William Scott and Paul Rudd as immature adults sentenced to community service as mentors for two misfit youths.
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. "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa," $63.5 million.
2. "Role Models," $19.3 million.
3. "High School Musical 3: Senior Year," $9.3 million.
4. "Changeling," $7.3 million.
5. "Zack and Miri Make a Porno," $6.5 million.
6. "Soul Men," $5.6 million.
7. "Saw V," $4.2 million.
8. "The Haunting of Molly Hartley," $3.5 million.
9. "The Secret Life of Bees," $3.1 million.
10. "Eagle Eye," $2.6 million.
`Madagascar'
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