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.

CNN – July 15, 2008

McCain again cites current events in ‘Czechoslovakia’

For the second time in two days, John McCain has referred to current events in “Czechoslovakia” – a country that officially ceased to exist in January of 1993.

“And I regret some of the recent behavior Russia that has exhibited, and I’ll be glad to talk about that later on including reduction in oil supplies to Czechoslovakia after they agreed with us on a missile defense system, etcetera,” said the presumptive Republican nominee at a New Mexico town hall Tuesday.

More than fifteen years ago, Czechoslovakia officially split into two nations – the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

On Monday, the Arizona senator made virtually the same statement about recent Russian moves that troubled him, citing that country’s attempt to reduce “the energy supplies to Czechoslovakia.”

Later that evening, McCain’s campaign sent reporters a statement on the issue, which quoted the Arizona senator calling the nation “the Czech Republic” twice.

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

Mike Peters: Dayton Daily News

Purchase at http://www.cartoonistgroup.com/store/add.php?iid=24911

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/07/11/reid_chastises_mccain_for_not.html

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