This week has been an infuriating and frustrating experience for every Obama supporter I know. On the one hand is a media sensation machine easily manipulated by juvenile McCain attack ads and mind-numbingly unable to call McCain on his shallow hypocrisy. On the other is an Obama team that either misses glorious opportunities to go on an all out attack on McCain (Phil Gramm anyone?) or somehow too casual in their dismissal of the GOP playbook.

And yet, I have to admit a growing sense of respect for the man in the middle of the crowd. Barak Obama. There must be an enormous amount of pressure on this guy. OK he is running for President. But the number of agendas that he is expected to fulfill makes my brain short-circuit and I am just watching from afar. Blacks, Whites, Hillary Supporters, Them Foreigners, Millions of Americans starved for a more just open and accountable givernment, Billions of people hoping for a more just open and even-handed America.

In the midst of that cauldron of expectations 2 things are obvious:

1. Obama is running a masterful campaign and giving a commanding performance
2. McCain has sold his soul and lost any shred of credibility or integrity.

Let’s hope the talking heads stop feeding the insanity.

So CNN is telling me that the earthquake was a 5.8 and “shallow”. I guess that means that little earthquake I just experienced ranks somewhere in the “nothing-to-worry-about” box.

But, sitting in my home and feeling some giant hand grab my building and rock it backwards and forwards for 10 seconds wasn’t exactly comforting. Kind of surreal actually.

A good way to meet the neighbours though.

Thanks again for the memories LA.

In my home in Los Angeles and an earthquake just hit the building. It lasted at least 10 seconds. Is there more?

Hearing from CNN that it was a 5.something with the centre south of LA

Not sure this is the way to really build confidence in your platform Ms. Patterson.

For those with more patience than you can learn more from Michael Liedtke’s article reported on HuffPo:

SAN FRANCISCO — Anna Patterson’s last Internet search engine was so impressive that industry leader Google Inc. bought the technology in 2004 to upgrade its own system.

She believes her latest invention is even more valuable _ only this time it’s not for sale.

Patterson instead intends to upstage Google, which she quit in 2006 to develop a more comprehensive and efficient way to scour the Internet.

The end result is Cuil, pronounced “cool.” Backed by $33 million in venture capital, the search engine plans to begin processing requests for the first time Monday.

Good luck kids.

Such a stupid cartoon clearly trying to be something funnier and cleverer and, I don’t know, more useful than it actually turned out to be. Context anyone? Humor? Actual satire? Um, not so much. This must be one very insular and rather clueless editorial board to think that this cartoon wouldn’t backfire in a big way. Not to mention perpetuating the Republican agenda of keeping the ill-informed in blissful ignorance.

Philip Kennicott from the Washington Post summarizes the problem beautifully:

The New Yorker might have added that the image doesn’t even add up to a coherent set of prejudices. It’s not clear how a Muslim man who keeps a painting of Osama bin Laden on the wall could survive marriage to a powerful, gun-toting, pants-wearing, independent woman. But no matter. If something satirical isn’t working for you, no matter how many times someone unpacks and analyzes it, the joke won’t suddenly become funny.

And if the satire isn’t carefully calibrated to a target audience, then it will almost assuredly be remembered for its offensiveness rather than its supposedly palliative effect on the body politic.

Jason Linkins at The Huffington Post makes a good point on what this missed in terms of satire:

The problem here, is that the image, absent explanation, has a clearly defined subject: the Obamas. I have no doubt that Blitt intended to critique those who trade in spurious rumors of the Obama’s lack of American-ness, but their “vice” and “folly” doesn’t make it into the picture! Blitt says the image is about the “preposterousness” of “certain sectors.” Those sectors aren’t depicted. Neither are the “fear mongerers” that Blitt means to paint as ridiculous. For all of Blitt’s good intentions, there is no part of the story of the picture that the picture actually exposes.

Would it have been better if Rush Limbaugh was shown painting this nonsense?

I like one blogger’s suggestion that our friends at The New Yorker compensate by drawing this image of McCain:

In the Interest of “Fair Play” i expect their next “Satirical ” Cover to Depict John and Cindy..in the Oval Office..he dressed as the Grim Reaper, her dressed in a Budweiser Can, the Constitution Burning in the Fireplace with a Picture of Richard Nixon above…that seem bout right? (John, Macrophage)

I dare you New Yorker

POSTSCRIPT

David Horsey makes some attempt at putting the shoe on the other foot … mmm .. kind of tame in comparison I think … and not really funny either

Here is what he told the Washington Times today:

“You’ve heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession,” he said, noting that growth has held up at about 1 percent despite all the publicity over losing jobs to India, China, illegal immigration, housing and credit problems and record oil prices. “We may have a recession; we haven’t had one yet.”

“We have sort of become a nation of whiners,” he said. “You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline” despite a major export boom that is the primary reason that growth continues in the economy, he said.

Read More of the Story

Yes that 1% growth might have something to do with billions of dollars being funnelled into the friends of Bush & Cheney League For Continual War and Richness. Or BCLFCWR. Which I made up and doesnt mean anything but looks kind of Roman.

Meanwhile … in a press conference earlier today John McCain told Time Magazine that Phil Gramm was being sent to Belarus .. “although even they might not want him”. Ha Ha.

He is such a card that JMC. A war hero of course and we deeply respect him for his service. But a funny guy too. And a war hero who earned his stripes for President by being shot down several times.

What McCain is avoiding is answering the actual question put to him by Time which essentially boils down to: You know nothing about the economy. Phil Gramm is your go to economic advisor. And now you are pretending that all your economic policy ideas are your own?

What has been even more troubling to anyone who has paid attention to Phil Gramm’s economic record is that his policies have been disastrous for America. The Huffington Post, Mother Jones and Randi Rhodes, and others have been following this narrative for quite some time now, but it essentially includes these damning resume builders: 

Gramm has extensive ties to Enron

Gramm has been a lobbyist for international banking and subprime mortgage giant UBS

Gramm played a key role in the subprime mortgage meltdown which has cost Americans hundreds of billions of dollars

Gramm is driving John McCains economic bus

Let’s see how our friends in the media deal with the latest John McCain debacle. And let us wonder if the response would have been the same if the top economic advisor for Barak Obama had said the same thing.

jxx

Members of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists approved their new contract with Hollywood’s major production companies by a solid margin on Tuesday, dealing a blow to the efforts of another actors’ union that is holding out for substantially better terms. Leaders of the federation said members ratified the deal with 62.4 percent approval in a vote that concluded late Tuesday evening. The margin of approval was smaller than the overwhelming endorsements typical of union ratification votes. The federation declined to give an exact vote count, citing longstanding practice.

But the margin was large enough to create a migraine for the Screen Actors Guild, the dominant actors’ union with some 120,000 members. The guild has been demanding higher pay, an increase in payments connected to DVD sales, restrictions on the placement of commercial products in shows and movies and a bigger take from the use of their work in new media.

S.A.G. members have been working without a contract for the last week, even as their negotiators ponder what producers termed a final offer. The guild has not yet taken a strike authorization vote — a process that might take weeks and would require 75 percent approval. That level would be difficult to achieve now that so many actors have already approved the Aftra pact, which stops short of guild demands.

About 75 percent of Aftra’s 70,000 members are actors. Those figures suggest that a large number of actors are weary of Hollywood’s labor unrest and are not eager for a new strike. About 40,000 actors belong to both Aftra and S.A.G.

Alan Rosenberg, S.A.G.’s president, said in a statement: “Clearly many Screen Actors Guild members responded to our education and outreach campaign and voted against the inadequate Aftra agreement.”

He added, “We will continue to address the issues of importance to actors that Aftra left on the table.”

A guild spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment. In brief statements on Tuesday, the guild and the producers’ alliance said the actors would respond to the companies’ latest offer at a meeting on Thursday.

The New York Times
By MICHAEL CIEPLY and BROOKS BARNES
Read this Article

What is The Difference in the Proposals?

Here is Nikki Finke’s reporting on why SAG doesn’t like the AFTRA proposal: http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/sags-point-by-point-aftra-deal-critique/

Gave Up Significant Jurisdiction in New Media

AFTRA accepted the DGA pattern that gave up jurisdiction over made for new media productions costing under $15,000 per minute. This would allow our signatory AMPTP companies to produce non-union.

SAG has signed more than 500 made for new media productions in the last several years – nearly all of them produced for less than $15,000 per minute. This also negatively impacts our existing contracts and marginalizes union work with our major employers.

Gave Up Residuals in New Media

AFTRA gave up residuals on made for new media productions, except in one very narrow, and very rare instance (only when produced for more than $25,000 per minute for a consumer-pay platform.)

AFTRA’s tentative deal does not secure adequate residuals for television shows that stream over the Internet on an advertiser-supported platform.

This is a huge problem for SAG members because the new media platform could cannibalize some existing residuals models for both motion pictures and television when product moves to the Internet. AFTRA’s abandonment of residuals in new media means the beginning of the end of residuals in new media.

Made No Significant Gains for Middle Class Actors

Actors need real wage gains. Under AFTRA’s tentative deal, actors could be making less over three years, in adjusted dollars than they are today. AFTRA’s increase in minimums amounts to about 10% over three years. This is less than the current rate of inflation and below the projected rate for the term of the contract. Provisions for major role performers were not significantly improved. The money breaks provide little improvement. The trailer money break in the third year is less than weekly scale. All money and schedule breaks under the tentative deal become effective only in the second year and the schedule break increases do not include corresponding overtime breaks.

In fact, achievements claimed by AFTRA for major role performers are actually diminished in the third year of the contract when these performers are moved into a new pay schedule where they actually lose some of the overtime and travel pay benefits.

Did Not Protect Actors on Clip Consent

AFTRA may have a tentative deal on clip consent but we don’t yet know the impact because their deal is contingent on the development of a process for securing consent. Because the process does not yet exist, we don’t know how it will work.

What we do know is that the tentative agreement allows for clip consent at the time of hire without any conditions or protections. SAG believes that consent at the time of hire must have strong protections that prevent employers from retaliating against actors who refuse to give their consent. Without strong protections in place – AFTRA’s right of consent at the time of hire could easily become “Right to get fired at the time of hire.”

Did Not Advance Background Performer Proposals

AFTRA increased the number of covered background actors in television… by 1 — just enough to truthfully claim to have achieved something. More importantly, the deal failed to measurably advance other Background Actor issues. This deal also does not include any gains for stand-ins.

So Called “Groundbreaking” Get in Background Rest Provisions is a Fantasy

AFTRA’s original list of “groundbreaking” gets for members included a line about securing rest provisions for background performers in Los Angeles. This has recently disappeared from AFTRA’s list of “groundbreaking” improvements. Why? Because the rest period covered in the “groundbreaking” deal point is actually only the minimum already mandated by California state law.

Gave Up On DVD Gains

AFTRA dropped the proposal on DVD’s. SAG has not. After more than 20 years of ridiculously low DVD residuals on which SAG members pay their own P&H, SAG believes that asking the employers to pay P&H on top of residuals is a fair proposal.

Mileage – AFTRA withdrew this proposal.

Mileage reimbursement hasn’t changed in nearly 30 years while the cost of gasoline has gone up by nearly 700% — and is approaching $5 per gallon. If Disney can pay Bob Iger $90 million per year, and the other companies can pay the fat packages they give their CEO’s, SAG thinks they can increase the reimbursement for mileage so our members can get to the jobs.

Coverage – Differences between SAG and AFTRA.

SAG covers 100% of theatrical motion pictures and more than 90% of scripted primetime network and pay television series. SAG covered 92 TV series over the course of the 2007/2008 season.

AFTRA covered 5 scripted primetime network and pay television series in the 2007/2008 season. AFTRA previously negotiated with SAG on its Exhibit A contract before abandoning the joint negotiation relationship in late March just days before entering negotiations.

Additional Comments from Tommy Kendrick are interesting: http://txactor.com/

I’ll improve the summary of this and keep reviewing the fine print so you can understand the full story.

jxx

Nothing. That’s what.

OK, maybe a little bit.

To prove my ignorance once and for all, I’ve decided to give everyone a little history lesson. Let’s begin.

July 4 1776 and a hardy group of lads, declaring themselves to be the Thirteen United States of America, decide to adopt a little thing called the Declaration of Independence. This little thing essentially told King George III and the British Empire to nick off.

At the heart of the Declaration of Independence was a preamble that was positively inspired  for its time:

We hold these truths to be self-evident,
that all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,
that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Cool. I think.

Meanwhile, the Declaration of Independence was followed by the adoption on September 17, 1787 of another revolutionary document, The United States Constitution. On April 30, 1789 young George Washington was elected as the first President of the United States and went on to win the little war thingy with the Brits.

Although celebrated upon publication, the Declaration was initially neglected following the American Revolution. It’s symbolic stature grew over the years, most notably through the influence of Abraham Lincoln, who viewed the Declaration as an ideal for which the nation should strive. BTW that was 80 odd years later (Lincoln was elected President in 1861, had a funny beard, led America through the Civil War, helped abolish slavery and had a disastrous night at the Theatre).

So what was revolutionary exactly? Well you might recall from those endless hours in Mrs Wiglesworth’s history class that the predominant European tradition of the time celebrated monarchies with a heavy dose of class structure. America’s founders wanted something new and drew upon more “enlightened” ideas that placed lots of emphasis on individual liberty and constraining the power of government through division of powers and a system of checks and balances. (You know the Judges, the House & Senate and the President’s dudes all watch each other carefully and equally).

Bottom line was the idea that power was bestowed by the many (“We the People …” ) to a few. And if that didn’t go well the many would soon have a chance to kick out those bungling few. Ah Democracy. Wonder how that little experiment is working out?

Bored yet? I know I am. BUT hey nothing in this life is easy. Sit down and stop eating those cookies.

Here is my point: These idea articulated in 1776 and 1787 have STILL NOT BEEN ACHIEVED RIGHT HERE IN AMERICA!!! In fact Dick, Junior and Friends seem to have spent the past 7 years and longer doing everything their Machiavellian little brains can think of to ensure that power goes back into the hands of the few. The insane expansion of the powers of the President, the suppression of honest, rational and open debate on legislation that has funneled billions of dollars to corporations and corrupt regimes; the promulgation of torture and suppression of civil liberties; the demonization of all opponents under the whitewash of being “unpatriotic”.

So long live July 4th America I say. The people of the entire world would be better served if we all live up to those early ideals.

jxx

For A Little More Irreverent History – Here We Go

With a little help from Wikipedia, my even less informed summary of what triggered July 4 …

• In 1763 Britain found itself with lots of debt from its involvement in the Seven Year War (the what …?)
• The Brits thought it would be a jolly good idea to impose hefty taxes on the Americans to help pay their bills
• The Americans thought “not bloody likely” and “no taxation without representation” and “where’s our tea party?” and other such naughty things
• From the midst of all of the going on’s in Boston emerged several iconic figures including John Adams and John Hancock.
• John Adams later signed a lucrative deal with HBO and is now living in a mansion in Bel Air
• Meanwhile Britain upped the ante and enacted nastier laws against US States (esp. MA)… skirmishes developed into rip roaring bar brawls, and lads like Thomas Jefferson began arguing that the Brits really needed to mind their own bloody business
• And thus a little war broke out with the Mothership during which the Declaration of Independence was signed

The next chain of events went something like this:

• Virginia set up a committee to represent the colonies
• In September 1774 the First Continental Congress met and drew up a list of grievances
• George Washington took command of the Continental Army and began fighting the British (This Revolutionary War went on for 8 years!)
• On July 2, 1776, the Second Continental Congress debated a list of grievances called the Declaration of Independence
• On July 4, 1776 the Declaration of Independence was formally approved by the Congress
• The actual document was mostly signed on August 2nd
• The first bloke to sign it was John Hancock, the President of this Congress
• Another signer was John Adams, the first Vice President and the Second President of the USofA
• Fifty-six men in total signed the DOI in geographic order of the colonies they represented, from north to south.
• A guy called Benjamin Franklin said, upon signing the Declaration of Independence, “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately,”  – that was an understatement
• In 1781, Massachusetts became the first to officially designate the Fourth of July as a holiday

… thank goodness because now we can all sit in traffic, listen to Ryan Seacrest and wonder about the glory of days gone by.

PS & Finally: Strange July 4 Moments

• 1826 – John Adams (2nd President) & Thomas Jefferson (3rd President) both drop dead on July 4. NOTE this was the 50th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and I for one am amazed there are not more conspiracy theories about it.
• 1827 – Slavery is abolished in New York State.
• 1831 – James Monroe (5th President) also drops dead
• 1850 – Zachary Taylor (12th President) catches bad cold celebrating July 4th and dies 5 days later 
• 1865 – Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is published.
• 1872 – Calvin Coolidge (30th President) reverses the trend and is born on July 4th in Vermont
• 1986 – Takahisa Masuda, Japanese singer is born. (What? … I am sure it meant a lot to the Masuda’s)
• 2006 – North Korea tests missiles including the Taepodong-2, thereby demonstrating the effectiveness of GWB’s Axis of Evil policies and providing hours of entertainment for the writers of The Daily Show

(You have more things to add to the list? Vehemently disagree? Let me hear it!)

Disentangling cause from effect is another matter altogether but in my mind it is a triangulation of three factors a) Individual responsibility and choices; b) Government empowerment and protection and c) corporate power and profits 

Now why didn’t they ask me first… I am still gathering all the facts – and would love your help – but below I have tried to capture some of the things that are going on in America and many Western Countries (you know, the ones that are meant to be the best protected and most fortunate).

Here is one view of our collective health problems. Please add your input

• The average person in modern society have more conveniences, entertainment and luxuries than the kings and queens of 200 years ago … but is our generation any happier or more fulfilled than even the last one?
• Today we are suffering diseases unheard of by our grand-parents
• Today young people are suffering health problems normally associated with old people
• Many diseases and health consequences do not show up until years or decades after poorly tested and/or regulated products were allowed on the market
• The companies responsible either are not held accountable or rarely pay for the price of the problem
• Health consequences are costing society more than in any time of our history
• Many health problems – allergies for example – are related to chemical byproducts or genetically modified food entering our environment.
• Once a virulent substance is unleashed on the environment it simply cannot be recalled
• The long term consequences of our behavior is devastating to life on this planet

I am not convinced there is a conspiracy theory of any high order of magnitude out there. But I do believe that the motivations of a corporation – which invariably boils down to making money for shareholders and lots of money for executives – have by and large proven to be diametrically opposed to the interests of human beings and the ecosphere.

Here is the beginning of a list of sources and insights on this HUGE topic. As I understand more I will make this whole thing more coherent.

Enjoy.

YouTube : video link

THE CAMPAIGN FOR HEALTHIER EATING IN AMERICA

Healthy Eating Starts With No Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)

Visit The Institute for Responsible Technology Here

You may have heard the FDA and food industry claims that genetically modified (GM) foods are safe, properly tested, and necessary to feed a hungry world. UNTRUE! Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are one of the most dangerous and radical changes to our food supply. These largely unregulated ingredients found in 60-70% of the foods in the US, are well worth the effort to avoid them. Fortunately, health-conscious consumers, retailers, distributors, manufacturers and growers are participating in The Campaign for Healthier Eating in America, which will help eliminate GMOs from thousands of food products. Their efforts will make it easier for you to avoid the serious health risks of eating GMOs and to feed your family a healthier “non-GMO” diet. The campaign’s goal is to stop the genetic engineering of the entire US food supply.

If a sufficient number of shoppers in the US avoid GMO foods, consumer pushback will force our major food companies to stop using them. The Europe Union reached a consumer driven tipping point in April 1999 on this issue and within a single week, virtually all major manufacturers publicly committed to stop using GM ingredients in their European brands. Sadly, the same companies that carefully avoid adding GMO ingredients to products marketed to concerned consumers in the European Union are eager to sell GMO foods to uneducated consumers in the US.

In the US, the natural foods industry has led the way in the widespread consumer rejection of genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (rbGH or rbST) in dairy products, by educating their customers about the health dangers associated with rbGH and making rbGH-free brands readily available. This wave that started in natural food aisles is being felt throughout the entire food industry. Within the last two years, Wal-Mart, Starbucks, Kroger, and about 40 of the 100 top dairies removed rbGH products as consumer concerns reached a tipping point on this issue. As US consumers pushed back against GM dairy products, the food industry responded.

But time is of the essence, The US sugar beet industry is venturing into the world of genetically modified crops this year by introducing a new gene-spliced variety engineered by Monsanto with plans to make GM sugar available to the food industry in 2009. We must act now to help stop the introduction of unlabeled GM sugar from GM sugar beets into our food supply.

Sites that are keeping a watch on GMO’s:

Additional resources

• Guerrilla News Network introduction to the film  
• Jonathan Campbell’s 50 harmful effects of GM foods   
• Extensive Wikipedia entry on GM food  
• Independent Science Panel case for a GM-free sustainable world  
• GMWatch.org list of the players behind GM foods
• Robin Good

Oh come on! You know what the result was! Deafening silence. OK – our friends on the left tried their best (kudos Randi Rhodes, Mike Malloy) – but everywhere else it was pretty much Barak & Hillary. Oh, and a day later, a pretty feeble OpEd from Bob Herbert.

When something as foul as torture is on the table, there is a tendency to avert one’s eyes from the most painful truths. It’s a tendency we should resist.

Really? Resist Mr Herbert? Like we should resist our tendency to go “mmm” when we see a nice piece of chocolate cake?

Now I don’t claim to know much, but I have heard there are these things called international treaties and the US has unilaterally run roughshod over too many of them in the past seven years, causing incalculable damage to it’s reputation, those treaties, and life on this planet.

So David Addington, (now Dick Cheney’s chief of staff) and John Yoo, (now a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley – seriously Berkley what were you thinking??) spent the afternoon stalling for time and merrily avoiding answering any questions and probably chuckling to themselves about how clever they were. And, of course, wondering what kind of treat Dick might give them later.

John Conyers (D-Mich.), Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) and Artur Davis (D-Ala.) tried their damndest though but it was a VERY frustrating experience for all concerned.  Here’s the ACLU trying to find a sliver of a lining:

[Rep. Davis] pointed out that at the time the torture memos were authored, during the 107th, 108th, and 109th Congresses, the Legislative branch was busily rubber-stamping every national security request President Bush made, from the FISA expansion to the Patriot Act. “If you had come to this Congress and asked, you would’ve gotten what you wanted,” Davis said. So why couldn’t the White House consult Congress on how to amend its interrogation policies, especially with Republican friends chairing the House and Senate Judiciary Committees?

Why, Indeed.

So, here’s your New York Minute challenge: Click on any of the videos below and try to watch a minute without yelling at your computer. OK, maybe do it in private. (I mean when you think nobody is watching/listening/spying on you).

Now pick which of the following things these two clowns have NO interest in:

The truth

The Law

The Constitution

Respecting the United States Congress

Respecting the United Nations Convention Against Torture.

Upsetting Dick. 

(Talk amongst yourselves)

Ah yes, another day passes and the slithering meandering time-wasting non-answers of this Administration and its surrogates continues to ensure that a little thing called accountability remains as elusive as it ever was.

Just don’t forget, George W. Bush apparently can order you “Buried Alive”.

jxx

Enjoy…

YouTube : video link

YouTube : video link

Thanks to: The Brilliant and Provocative Randi Rhodes: http://forums.therandirhodesshow.com/index.php?showtopic=3513