I Wanna Be a Hooker

If the news has taught me anything this week about making mad money and gaining skyrocketing popular press, it's that I'm in the wrong line of work. That's why I think it's time to strap on a pair of 6-inch clear heels and get to hookin'!

Consider Eliot Spitzer's now-famous call-girl, Ashley Alexandra Dupre, AKA:"Kristen." Since her identity was revealed, she's been raking in the million-dollar offers. Besides the TV talk shows, Hustler publisher Larry Flynt told AP Friday that he e-mailed Dupre offering her $1 million to appear nude in his magazine. Then, Joe Francis reached out to her with an offer of $1 million to appear in a non-nude spread for his company's new magazine, plus a chance to join the "Girls Gone Wild" tour bus. Turns out, she already did "Girls Gone Wild!!!" To top it all off, she's actually had a legit offer to do advertising work. According to AdAge, the owner of Georgi vodka said he is in six-figure talks to put the derriere of Ms. Dupre on the backside of every bus in New York.

What have I been thinking all this time??? All I need to do for national fame and fortune is f**k a Governor! Maybe Kansas' Kathleen Sebelius - she endorsed Obama, so we have something in common. (PAUSE) Sorry, I just threw up in my mouth a little. What is wrong with America that we will reward repugnant, illegal actions for women and ostracize and destroy the men who engage them in said behavior? I'm not condoning either sex in these matters. And as far as I'm concerned, both these people should be banished to obscurity - and neither should see another dime from my pocket or anyone else's. But I can feel which way the wind's blowing in this nation. So, ladies, if you fancy a 5'8" Jewish American Gigolo who knows how to make you feel like a natural woman, call me. My fees are reasonable and negotiable. And when we're done, I can recite every line of every episode of The Simpsons up through Season 8. I know, I'm a sexy beast.

I Wanna Hold Your Hannity

Who needs a yenta to play matchmaker? Not conservatives! Not with FoxNews pundit Sean Hannity on their side. (This is simply too bizarre not to share). I went to FoxNews to look for Hannity's reaction to the Obama speech today. Hey, I'm curious. And I still am, as I found no analysis. Instead, I was shocked to find Hannidate. The site describes the service as "the place where people of like conservative minds can come together to meet. Whether you are looking for a life partner, or just someone to hang out with, here you'll be able to find exactly who you are looking for, locally or around the world."

The site must also be for gay conservatives, because in my very brief browsing, the only profiles I found were men (who must have fallen for Mr. H's harsh criticism of Hillary and his incredibly square jaw). Sean better change his stance on gay marriage soon; he might just sink his new online profit center!

JFK aint got sh*t on me!

Whether it's tapping the man next to you in the bathroom stall or being client number 9, the new breed of politician has certainly fallen far from the concept of being a "dignitary". Deciding "he could not tell a lie" newly sworn in David Patterson revealed his infidelity towards his wife during what he referred to as a "rocky patch" in their marriage. Fearing blackmail, Patterson decided to come forward at a rocky point in New York politics. However I applaud Patterson's decision. Perhaps this new technique of sexual disclosure should be part of every candidates platform. When a person votes they should be able to see whether a person is a Republican, Pro-Life, Pro-Second Amendment, and if they have slept with over 35 men and women in past ten years. Hell, most Americans weren't pissed that Clinton was getting a BJ in the Oval Office, but were more cheesed that he lied about it. Sexual misconduct is as old as Thomas Jefferson, so get over yourself and embrace the new politics of sex, lies, and internet hookers.

Arthur C. Clarke: A Life's Odyssey

Arthur C. Clarke, author of more than 100 books and the classic 2001: A Space Odyssey has passed away at the age of 90. His writing is obviously an incredible achievement, but he also did a lot more that I was surprised to learn about with his passing. Clarke had battled debilitating post-polio syndrome since the 1960s and sometimes used a wheelchair. He moved to Sri Lanka in 1956, lured by his interest in marine diving, which he said was as close as he could get to the weightless feeling of space. "I'm perfectly operational underwater," he once said. He was credited with the concept of communications satellites in 1945, decades before they became a reality. Geosynchronous orbits, which keep satellites in a fixed position relative to the ground, are called "Clarke orbits." Pretty amazing, huh? Thought it all worth sharing, as he's clearly a man worth remembering. (Source to the AP for most of this post).

Ask and Ye Shall Recieve

Over and over I have asked for Barack Obama to give a speech that recaptured the spirit of his campaign. He just did. Please give it a read for yourself.

Much more over the course of the day!

March Madness Is: Jim Cramer On Bear Stearns

Mad Money indeed! Watch the "prophetic" (pathetic) Jim Cramer from just one week ago. He is no David Mamet, that's for sure.

Finally a Campaign listens to me

Today Senator Barack Obama will give what even his campaign is characterizing as a major speech. Dealing with race and politics in America. This kind of moment is one I have been calling for since the losses in Ohio and Texas. Not only will he be giving the speech I wanted, he'll be doing at the National Constitution Center in Philidelphia, one of my favorite places. We'll be all over it.

REALTORS Incur My Grapes of Wrath!

"ABC: Always Be Closing." That's the motto of Alec Baldwin's indelible character in David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross. It also seems the National Assocition of Realtors has taken these words to heart in its latest attempt to pop the American public up the poop shoot. In the face of a growing economic recession, in which foreclosure rates skyrocketed 60 percent last month from February 2007, and Americans own less equity in their homes than they have since World War II, the NAR has launched a new "public awareness campaign" to get people to buy homes, positioning ownership as a fantastic way to "build long-term wealth."

Whaaaa??? Let me get this straight, Suits McGee: typical American families are having trouble making ends meet in the short-term, so you want them to go buy a house for the long-term? And what, live in their minivans in the interim? Gives a whole new meaning and importance to stow-and-go seating.

"Honey, let's pack up the Kia Sedona
and hit the open road!"
We'll cluster with other families and establish a new generation of whole dust bowl colonies while the new homes we all can't afford to live in appreciate. It'll be like The Grapes of Wrath, only the kids'll get to watch Shrek 3 on their in-vehicle DVD players while Mom warms up some grilled cheese on the George Foreman grill she's amped up with the cigarette lighter.

Now let's get real, REALTORS. It astounds me that you can be so ignorant and insensitive. Worse, that you can tarnish the good name of agents who actually care about their clients and help bring good home buyers and good homes together. This "awareness campaign" is nothing short of tasteless...unless you count the taste of blood on my tongue when I saw your ad on TV tonight.

Obama Posts Up

I was one of the many bloggers to hit Obama for his pastor's remarks. I questioned the effect this would have on the campaign and what Obama would do to repudiate the remarks of his former pastor. Obama's response was superb. Unwilling to cut his old friend off at the knees he disagreed with the language but would not cut off someone who he compared to a member of the family.

Watch the entire response in here with this Countdown with Keith Olbermann clip.

McCain in Iraq

Is John McCain building his brand? Or throwing the election to the democrats? The pundits and Sunday morning talk-shows have been talking about how Presidential McCain's visit this week to Iraq looked.

Ultimately, it might work to his advantage to have our military stage the best photo-op a guy could hope for heading into a general election. But I think it's a problem for McCain to stake his entire candidacy on the war in Iraq. There are three reasons.

No one knows what it will be like there by November
We will know about how Gen. Petraeus feels on the subject during his april testimony, but in the mean time he has let some of his feelings be known to the Washington Post. He for the first time publicly pressured the Iraqis to get moving on a diplomatic solution as he has been forced to reduce troop presence in Iraq. Perhaps Petraeus knows something we don't and the lid will only stay on the pot for so long. Suffice to say if there is an upswing in violence prior to the election McCain will have a hard time keeping the surge and the war as a whole popular across the country.

It's the economy, stupid.
Even if Iraq is a bed of roses in November, the economy is likely to be a mess heading into some level of recession. The sub-prime and liquidity problems the large financial institutions face is not going to abide any time soon. Doubling down on a basically unpopular war at a time when houses are being foreclosed on will strike many voters as just as narrow-minded and bull headed as George W. Bush plowing ahead as the country withered.

Don't Show up there with Cheney
This is a minor point, and perhaps really more of a pet-peeve on my part, but don't show up in Iraq with Dick "we'll be greeted as liberators" Cheney in tow. That makes all of your statements about security improvements and correct strategies look about as intelligent as "mission accomplished."

March Madness Is: Getting a Vasectomy

Hey, fellas! Looking for an excuse to stay home from work and watch March Madness this week?? The Oregon Urology Institute has the answer: get a vasectomy!

Says the radio ad, "When March Madness approaches you need an excuse ...to stay at home in front of the big screen. Get your vasectomy at Oregon Urology Institute the day before the tournament starts. It's snip city." Holy schnikes! If you want to hear the ad in its entirety and lunacy click here.

Okay, so I'm as happy as the next guy to find a reason to skip work and vegg out on the couch - but not at the expense of my little Buckeyes. Now, I'll concede I'm really not the target of these ads, but I still have to wonder what made the OUI come up with this crazy promotion. Did their marketing director wake up one day and shout, "Eureka! We'll offer a snip off in time for tip off! That'll pack 'em in!"

Between this promotion and last week's announcement of Eliot Spitzer night, I'm fearing what the third part of the trifecta is going to be. In any case, I'm sorry, OUI. No amount of basketball plus recovery kit of sports magazines, free pizza delivery and a bag of frozen peas is gonna convince me I should let you Cameron Crazies anywhere near my Gonzaga.

No 2000 Election Redux

I'm back from my bout with the bubonic plague to break this news...Florida will not vote again! Technically, I'm still sore at Florida for screwing me over in 2000, but this recent turn of events will improve our relationship greatly. While I am very excited that Florida will abide by the rules set by the DNC, this does however create quite the mathematical mess in Hillaryville. It is unlikely that the remaining states will produce a winner, only lengthening an already messy primary. What can faithful Dems expect? More hitting below the belt by the Clinton campaign and more attacks on both candidates by Conservatives. Hurry John McCain, say something stupid about Iraq before the Democrats kill themselves!

Panic! at Wall Street

So I wanted to take 10 min this afternoon (I am a workin man after all) and give my quick take on the economic mess we are facing.

Yes, its the banks' fault-The lending organizations that loan-sharked and speculated their way into the sub-prime mess were gambling with what they thought was house money. Turns out their risky lending practices have outpaced the market's ability to correct for them. The mess got so complicated that larger financial institutions such as Bear Sterns were buying commodities based on sub-prime mortgages. The commodities either made it difficult to determine how much of their value lied in sub-prime mortgages, or the banks didn't do their homework. They relied on the commodities "triple-a rating."

Triple A Rating-This either means something or it doesn't. This rating gave banks the idea that they were investing in something steady. Clearly that was a mistake.

Where to now?
I'm no economist (thank god), but everything I've watched/listened/read from PBS, to WSJ, to NY Times, points to an uncertain and grim future for the economy. Why? Basically two things are competing at once. The cost of consumer good across the board are going up. That means oil and food are heading north, these prices push the cost of consumer goods up, these costs going up is pushing the dollar downward. The weak dollar is a translation of the diminishing value of American wealth. At other times, most recently in 2001 when the markets looked ready to dip after 9/11, the answer was the open the spickets of easy cash, otherwise known as credit. The Fed keeps cutting rates, but since banks have every little confidence in each other, they are making credit harder to come by for the consumer. That means consumers can't spend the economy back to growth. Their dollars are worth too little and their credit is dry.

The Politics
This helps Senators Obama and Clinton and hurts John McCain, potentially in a big way. McCain wants this election to be about national security and Iraq. It will be difficult to keep the public's attention there if they are worried about home foreclosure and their job security. McCain needs to prove he knows something about the economy and somehow he'd manage it differently that President Bush. Who rightly or wrongly will be blamed if the economy is further in the tank.

The Policy

Congressional action will be necessary before this turns uglier. The $600 many are about to receive won't help this situation, because again we can't spend our way out of this. Perhaps its time for a federal public works program to stimulate job growth, and fair government spending. Perhaps a special bond program allowing the government back some of the tremendous debt in the financial markets without dipping into tax payer funding. If our involvement in Iraq continues that perhaps war bonds to pay for the incredible cost of this conflict.

The bottom line is we are going to need creative solutions and fast, because once again. It's the economy, stupid.

Wright Stuff

Jeremiah Wright's video clips have made their way around the internet and have shown up all over the cable channels, causing Senator Obama to quickly repudiate the incendiary words of the former pastor.

But I wonder if we're not missing something else. The comments made by pastor Wright were certainly controversial and disagreeable. However, the "Amen!" chorus was as loud as ever in all those videos. Pastor Wright was not speaking in a vacuum he was speaking to a large group that agreed with him. One of the defenses always made for Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson was that they preached to a group of ardent followers that agreed with their politics. They had to be respected because they were not alone. Well Jeremiah Wright clearly wasn't alone either. While his rhetoric might not have garnered him a cable TV show, he did have a significant following. Why is it that John McCain and George W. Bush are allowed to pander to preachers that thought 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina were punishments for liberal policy on gays and abortion. But Barack Obama must instantly repudiate the statements of a minister who claimed that our actions abroad came home to roost on 9/11?



Both statements are foolhardy and incendiary, both are vile and disagreeable. But there is an untold racial divide between the statements of Pastor Wright and those of Rev. Falwell or Robertson. If you are white and homophobic you are preaching the gospel, if you are black and protectionist, you are a reverse racist.

Olbermann on Clinton/Ferraro

After my last post I couldn't help but post this reaction from Keith Olbermann. It's nearly 10 minutes, but worth the time. Take a look.

Buyer's Remorse?

Barack Obama is locked in a dog fight with Hillary Clinton heading toward the convention. April 22nd will be the last "big state" contest between now and the convention and while Obama will likely maintain is delegate lead (with an interesting boost from his Iowa win), he is leading in the popular vote and the number of states won. But he has had a tough week, and as the slog grows longer and tougher one has to wonder if his coalition might crack at the wrong time.

Problem number one....his pastor. Obama's Chicago pastor, the man that married he and his wife and baptisized their children has said some pretty horrendous things in the past. Obama maybe youtube proof but his pastor isn't. This is a problem because it feeds into one of the insidious core doubts about his candidacy, that he somehow dislikes white America, and seeks to fundamentally change the direction of governmental policy against it. Such fears are racially motivated and not even subtly so, but while Obama has played above the fray this kind of video has the comment boards lit up. We bloggers are not neccesarily journalists, but it would be inappropriate not to include a clip. I think it's important to note that the clips was titled on youtube "Barack Obama pastor Jeremiah Wright is anti American Racist"



It's hard to quantify whether the broadcasting of such comments and association of them to Obama, in tandem with the string of racially motivated comments made about his singing the national anthem, dressing as a muslim, being Jesse Jackson, or the Geraldine Ferraro mess (included below), have had an effect but consider this. In Ohio and Mississippi, while possibly unfair barometers, his support among white voters has fallen from the mid-forties to below thirty percent (below 40% in Ohio, below 30% in Mississippi).





UPDATE: Politico.com covers the rebuttal of Wright's Church

So these things in mind, lets talk about problem number two, Tony Rezko. Currently on trial for extortion among other crimes Rezko's dealing as an entrepreneur and land developer are suspect to say the least. He has had dealings with Senator Obama that were once thought to be minor, with respect to campaign finance and a land deal. But politico.com reports that Senator Obama is admitting a larger role for Rezko as a campaign backer, especially from his days in Illinois. His dealings and relationship with a questionable figure make Obama less than bullet-proof as a politician of change.

We have yet to see what kind of negatives this will draw to Obama as the Pennsyvlania contest draws nearer. One wonders if his image as a new face free of character blights will continue to carry across America? What does the nature of his detracors' arguments say about the state of race relations in America. The lack of experience argument sticks to some degree, but having successfully warded that off the Obama campaign finds itself under seige and most of the attacks are back-handed racial jabs. Are Obama's people losing faith or is he becoming a victim of celebrity media coverage? A figure being built up to be torn down?

I will reiterate my previous unsolicted advise for the Obama camp. He needs to get out there with a rhetorical flourish to match that of his Jefferson-Jackson dinner. He needs to reestablish why he is a change candidate and why these attacks are symbols of the old ways. Too often we have seen attacks from surrogates, and denials from the candidate. That strikes too much of the Clinton play book. If Obama is to be different than he must be different all the time not just when he is the underdog in this fight.

David Mamet: Political Prophet

There is a prophet living among us. He is no Elijah foretelling the coming of Christ. He is no Nostradamus predicting the rise of Hitler from gazing mystically into a candle-lit mirror. No, he is David Mamet, Pulitzer Prize winning playwright of Glengarry Glen Ross and countless other plays and films. And when it comes to politics and world affairs, he says sooth with incredible truth.

Consider his 1997, Oscar-nominated Wag The Dog, about a president whose aides help him fake a war with Albania to distract the nation from an alleged sexual encounter with a Firefly Girl (ie: like Girl Scout). The term "wagging the dog" is now pundit vernacular. Or, more shockingly, consider this strikingly prophetic line from WTG (to be read a la Robert DeNiro):

"And if you go to war again, who is it going to be against? Your "ability to fight a Two-ocean War" against who? Sweden and Togo? That time has passed. It's passed. It's over. The war of the future is nuclear terrorism. It is and it will be against a small group of dissidents who, unbeknownst, perhaps, to their own governments, have blah blah blah."

That's 4 years before 9/11. That's long before we started hearing about "suitcase bombs" and "dirty bombs." In fact, Dustin Hoffman's producer character creates the idea of a suitcase bomb coming across the border from Canada as the dramatic/narrative answer to how Albania could threaten the U.S. So, assuming that Mr. Mamet's prowess for prophecy is as adept as his ability drop F-bombs, what then can be gleaned from his current Broadway hit November, starring Nathan Lane as a shady, dysfunctional, failure of a President seeking re-election? Let us ponder the prophecy...

Will the RNC abandon John McCain before the election if he won't play ball with the conservative agenda? In the play, the President Smith is abandoned and denied funding a week before the election when his campaign appears to be dead in the water. Will the RNC leave McCain out to dry if it appears he can't deliver? In 4 years, should he win, will McCain be left hanging if his policies/practices don't live up to RNC expectations? Only time and Mamet will tell..

Will George W. Bush be denied a presidential library? President Smith gets no funding for a library because his presidency is deemed such a failure. Honestly, who's going to want to visit a library with the Bush memoirs and a big blown up photos of the infamous "Mission Accomplished," Katrina and Baghdad? Only time and Mamet will tell..

Will George W. Bush find something other than the war to claim as his legacy?
President Smith chooses to tackle gay marriage and put his foot firmly in the ground on an issue he believes in. Will Bush do something worthy of lasting social merit after 4 years of discriminating against gays and immigrants while denying important stem cell research? Only time and Mamet will tell..

I could go on at great length. Instead, I recommend you check out this insightful and funny piece of satire on the Great White Way. Or stay in and rent Wag The Dog. And, in order to maintain some sense of credibility for this post, kindly ignore Mamet's film The Edge. No one cares if in the future Alec Baldwin and/or Anthony Hopkins fight a bear. Unless the bear wins. Bears rule.

The future of cities

There so many problems facing us as a society as we look to the future. So many big problems to solve. As a lighting designer, someone involved in the architecture industry I am constantly amazed at how architects, designers and urban planners can rethink things and change the way we live. We don't think about these things on a daily basis but the architectural spaces we occupy everyday affect the way we live our lives. They can promote health, well being, peace among neighbors, a sense of community, security, and the environment.

When most people think of a "green" home they think of tiny house somewhere in California, where the owner installed solar panels on the roof, and they built the walls of reused cardboard boxes. Usually these places are in the middle of the woods where eccentric owner strode to make as little environmental impact as possible. When we think of affordable urban housing, we think of huge, ugly brick structures with tiny apartments lined up floor upon floor in blocks of indistinguishable buildings. We never consider these buildings could add to their environment, or be pleasing to neighbors and neighborhoods, we never imagine they can be healthy places for all inhabitants. We never imagine they can help save the planet.

And yet that's what's happening right now in a vacant lot in the south Bronx of New York City. The Via Verde project is being built as we speak. And it will change everything. The New Housing New York Legacy Project announced a design competition challenges architects and design teams to take an empty strip of land in the south bronx, the area Jimmy Carter visited in 1977, when he announced his plan for national urban renewal, and turn it into a housing project for the future.

The designers from Phillips-Rose-Dattner-Grimshaw (PRDG) created a winning design they titled Via Verde, as the winners the developers were sold the land for $1 to begin building. The project represents an evolutionary leap in how housing and communities can be designed and built in the future. The settlement features housing for low, middle, and moderate incomes, as well as units deemed affordable housing. That alone stands as a model to shatter the previously held notion of housing developments becoming ghettos and enclaves for crime.

But there is far more to the development than mixing incomes. Creating a terraced elevating shape with a primarly southern exposure the PRDG team was able to provide every residence and abundance of natural light throughout the majority of the day. The terraced effect created level surfaces for green spaces such as gardens and play grounds. Providing spectacular views, a healthy environment and financial stability this project changes the way urban planners will be expected to see their cities.

I could go on and on about this project. As I believe it is a stunning design achievement as well as a high water mark for urban planning and policy. Let's hope other cities are paying attention.

For more on the project check this out.

The Social Ladder Problem

Ladies and Gentlemen of our world-wide audience (no, I haven't smoked anything google analytics tells me we have had readers in the UK, India, singapore and countless other nations around the world, ok perhaps not countless) good day.

Those of you that have kept up withe the blog know that my favorite columnist is David Brooks of the NY Times. I usually link to his tuesday column, but this week he was only featured on Friday. As such, you can find this week's column right here, its all about the social ladder and the toll it takes to climb it.

Billy Crystal Lives The Dream

Despite pro basketball and MMA having captured the competitive spirit of today's young American male, the dream of every boy of my generation and the one before was to play big league baseball. From the first time you scrape your knees sliding into second in Little League...the first time you hear your dad yell for some more "chatter" in the outfield...the first time you feel the sting of the leather ball with red stitching ping off your aluminum bat...you crave it. Even if you're bad at it, and Lord knows I was. (My greatest feat was going 2 for 3 against the worst team in the league. That, and my streak of 21 straight walks followed by a stolen base was pretty stellar. I felt like Ricky Henderson, except scrawny and afraid to get dirty. I guess it paid to be short and slow to swing).

The point is, so very very few of us Little Leaguers ever hit the Bigs. After all, hitting a baseball is the hardest thing on earth. Think about it: what other sport celebrates players who only succeed (at best) about 30% of the time? Consider that no one has hit .400 or better since Ted Williams over 60 years ago - the same year as DiMaggio's 56-game hit streak!

That's why I have to applaud Billy Crystal's short stint with the New York Yankees this week. Sure, he's too old. Sure, he was never good enough. Sure, it was a bit of a publicity stunt (albeit far better than "Eliot Spitzer Night"). But here's to showing us all that a boy's dreams can indeed come true. Billy played one game - a pre-season exhibition against the Pirates. Like the mighty Casey, Crystal went down swinging. But he did make contact with the ball and - as Keanu says in Hardball - he "showed up." (Check out his at-bat below).

Said Crystal before the big game, "I know this'll be tougher than the Broadway Softball League, but I'm looking forward to helping the younger players, which by the way is all of them."

Bravo, Billy. There may be no joy in Muddville, but I'm happy you reminded me what it felt like to pick up a bat, stare out at the fences knowing full well the ball probably wouldn't reach past the infield grass, but still take my cuts like a man and dream big.

Now At Shortstop, Number 9, Eliot Spitzer!

And the hits just keep on coming! Like something out of Bull Durham, Minor League club the Macon Music has stepped up to the plate with this zany promotion: June 13th is Eliot Spitzer Night! Elements for the promotion include:

- The Music will give away a trip to New York and a one-night stay at the Mayflower Hotel.

- The ninth fan – or Client No. 9, as Spitzer was known in the prostitution ring – into the ballpark will receive a free Music prize pack.

- Fans with the name Eliot, Spitzer or Kristen, along with any fan from New York, will receive $1 off admission. Any fan who has ever resigned a position will also receive $1 off admission.

- The Music will play Frank Sinatra songs throughout the night.

- Wire taps will be placed around the stadium.

- Fans will be able to use ATMs in the ballpark available for cash withdrawals not to exceed $5,000 per hour.

- The 871st fan through the gates will receive a gift certificate for the team store.

I'm not sure what I should balk at more, Mister Spitzer or this promotion. Ah, schadenfreude, you're America's MVP for all seasons!

Welcome to the Olympics!

As Tibetan protests turned violent, the US embassy is warning US citizens to stay away from Lhasa. Not many details are known, but it seems that the protest has lasted several days and is the largest since 1989. The frustration of the Tibetan people has escalated to burning shops and cars. Many protesters have been arrested and tear gas has been fired to disperse the crowd by the Chinese police. That was while wishing to keep the facade of a unified, peaceful nation for the Olympic games. But China's knee jerk reaction to protest is to smother it, and old habits die hard.

But without addressing the frustrations and concerns of the Tibetan people, these incidents will continue. Trying to muffle someone's shouting will only make them shout louder. And so it is that so many people were hurt and even died in their struggle with the Chinese police. And while the international community focuses on the appearance of improvement within China because of more prosperity for the middle class, these slight cracks in the facade are ignored. As long as our citizens don't see ugliness when they visit, then ugliness doesn't exist-despite the evidence to the contrary.

But as long as China continues to be an economic powerhouse and feed into our consumer frenzy, it seems our objections will never be too loud.

BBC World News Report
NY Times Report

Petraeus on Iraq

Hey all, just a quick hit. I saw this interview with Gen. Petraeus on the state of Iraq. It's a good primer for his April testimony.

EVERYONE STOP WORRYING.....RIGHT NOW

It turns out Global Warming isn't real.

Rush Limbaugh just informed me that its all a plot cooked up by Al Gore and eco-terrorists.

WHEW!!!

And here I thought we had a real problem on our hands. Thankfully Rush tells me that based on his years of scientific study, this whole thing is a hoax. THANK GOD! In fact, for the sake of all Policythought Readers out there, I will post one of Rush's many, many brilliant insights into this topic....

"This is nothing more than typical media behavior. Nothing more than typical media distortion and really what it is, is constant focus on crisis. If somebody they think is credible, a scientist or an expert, comes out and says, "We got global warming. It's going to happen," you had a former vice president with a movie out there, they love it. It's crisis. It sells newspapers! It gets ratings! It promotes liberalism! It promotes big government! I don't think, folks, based on where some of our thermometers are that take official temperature readings in this country and around the world, I don't think we can possibly know for sure whether it's getting warmer or colder climate-wise worldwide. How can in the middle of global warming we set record lows in the summertime and have record highs in the winter? Some of these things just don't make sense. But aside from all that, you don't factor precipitation, you throw the sun out of the equation, and you only factor in rich countries and wealthy human beings and then point the finger of blame, you don't think that's liberalism? That's liberalism to its core, combined with a compliant media that is focused not on facts and truth and open exchange of ideas, but just promoting crisis, pure and simple. Don't fall for it. It's a hoax!" The entire transcript can be found here

Let me just say, I am really really pleased Rush told me that. Otherwise I might have gone on believing.

Now the question of course is who does President Bush believe? Rush or his own EPA? Well according to this article in the Washington Post, the President personally intervened at the last minute to kill smog restrictions a new code the EPA was releasing. I guess the EPA are just a bunch of environmentalist wacko-s too.

How the Democrats Implode

Are we watching the Democrats implode again?

The 2008 election was supposed to be a romp. Every pundit and poll from NY to Cali proclaimed the same thing. The nation is dissatisfied with the incumbent powers and its very hard for a party to win a third term in the White House. Ergo, the White House and probably congress are a lock to turn blue, reversing the course of the majority of the Bush era.

Now we begin to watch the implosion. Week by week as the primary contest goes on, the democrats give John McCain a stronger and stronger chance of winning the White House. Let me be clear, I am all for a protracted contest between two excellent candidates to determine the best nominee. The problem lies in tactics and in the Clinton machine's reflexive instinct to kneecap their opponent no matter who it is. The Clinton campaign continues to inject race into the campaign (largely through surrogates) and then when they're called on it they claim reverse racism. But their contradictions and abysmal actions extend further.

They claim Barack Obama doesn't have the expereince to be commander in chief, but somehow he is qualfied to be Vice President, one heartbeat away from the big chair. They find a variety of ways to say he doesn't deserve to be here, defining his campaign as nothing more than plagiarized words.

This gives rise to both Obama and Clinton playing the politics of victimhood. Obama faces racism, clinton faces sexism. Meanwhile John McCain stands and takes his lumps like a man. He sits on his perch as the presumptive nominee and snipes at both calling them "liberal democrats." in a "right of center nation."

All the while a Democrat governor gets caught up in a sex scandal. The kind that seems to stick to Dems, and bounce of the GOP.

If you are very quiet, you might hear the sound of Howard Dean's scream.

Finding a Pop Star in Afghanistan

Last night truly kicked off the competition for American Idol: Season 7, as the Top 12 took to the newly constructed set for the wildly popular (and this year very entertaining) singing competition. And yet, the real news today isn't last night's abysmal showing from front-runner, 17-year-old David Archuletta. No, it's the Reuters story on Afghan Star, the AI of Afghanistan.

Watched by millions and condemned by clerics, Afghan Star has caused quite the sandstorm. For the first time in three seasons, a woman is one of the top 3 finalists. Moreover, contestant Lima Sahar is a Pashtun, the ethnic group which forms the backbone of Taliban support. Plus, she is also from the southern city of Kandahar, the movement's main former stronghold. (I suppose my headline for this post could have been "The Al Qaeda Kelly Clarkson," but that just seemed in poor taste. In fact, it was "The Taliban Taylor Hicks," but I figured that's probably insensitive, too).

Further creating a Randy Jackson "Whoa, dawg!" controversy, apparently this Afghantasia (yay, puns!) can't carry a tune in a paper bag - leading people to wonder if there's some sort of conspiracy behind the voting. Voting appears to have followed ethnic lines with the finalists representing Afghanistan's three biggest ethnic groups; Sahar the majority Pashtuns, Rafi Nabzada the Tajiks of the north and Hamed Sakhizada, the Shi'ite Hazara minority.

So, I guess things aren't so dissimilar over in Afghanistan. We have Sanjaya. They have Sahar. We have Ryan Seacrest. They have a lot of hot air. We can't find Osama Bin Laden. They can't find a singing star. Wait a minute...

Number 9...Number 9...

Virgin Mobile has wasted no time jumping all over Eliot Spitzer, just like his Emperors Club Escort (Zing!). Virgin also went after Hillary in this ad last week. Who knew phones could be the source of so much trouble? Oh, right. Eliot Spitzer. (Zing Zing!)

The Cynical Dream

Hillary Clinton on her posse have taken the week since her victories in Texas and Ohio to float the idea of the once unthinkable "Dream Ticket." Some democrats are taking heart in this idea. This latest pivot from the Clinton camp isnitjibg more than a cynical ploy. The ploy has both short term and long term goals. Both are deceptive to the voters.

The short term goal was Mississippi. Voting in the heavily black state has tilted to Obama. This ploy was way of peeling voters away from Obama and perhaps cutting down on the delegate lead. We don't know how successful this was.

The longer term ploy is more cynical and proves the adeptness of the Clinton machine in playing the politics of the system. The next big state contest is Pennsylvania on April 22nd. This state polls well for Clinton and is likely to be a narrow victory for her. However, because of the ballot proportioning, it will do little to change the delegate totals. That means the Super Delegates will ultimately decide who is nominated. Clinton will be able to say she won all the big states. Obama will counter, rightly, that he won more delegates and likely the popular vote. Hillary Clinton will at that point require a massive shift in the Super Delegates to win the nomination. The shift will be seen as a manipulation of the system, and a thwarting of the will of the voters. That perception is likely to kill much of the enthusiasm Obama's campaign has generated among the youth and the independents who were never likely to vote democrat. Hillary knows this is a net loss for the party and in a further attempt to sway the "Supers she is floating the idea of a "dream ticket" that she knows will never happen. Its a twisted ploy to tug on the heart strings of voters.

Its a promise that will never be fullfilled. And even if it were true, we all know who would be the real VP.

Lets cut the games and get real about this nomination, and start talking issues again.

Pangea Day: The World Comes Together Online

Once upon a time, when Jesus-horses roamed the earth (the heathen call them dinosaurs), the world comprised of one giant land mass we long after proclaimed as "Pangea." All earth. One earth. One planet. Then, one day - let's say Tuesday - a geographic shift began as the tectonic plates of the earth shifted. This broke the planet into the 7 magnificent continents we have today (though I have long had a serious bone to pick with Australia being both a country and a continent). And that is how the world has remained.

But now, a group of media moguls, including Mister Live Aid himself Bob Geldoff, are trying to bring the world back together in a multimedia event that calls itself the "first global campfire." It is Pangea Day. According to the event's official Web site:

On May 10, 2008 - Pangea Day - sites in Cairo, Dharamsala, Kigali, London, New York City, Ramallah, Rio de Janeiro, and Tel Aviv will be videoconferenced live to produce a program of powerful films, visionary speakers, and uplifting music. The program will be broadcast live to the world through the Internet, television, digital cinemas, and mobile phones. Following the event, the Pangea Day organizers will facilitate community-building activities around the world by connecting inspired viewers with numerous organizations which are already doing groundbreaking work.

Personally, I think this is superb. For all the celebrity gossip, porn, bad consumer generated media and wildly off-base muckraking (as blogged about on this site) that the Internet enables, the Web and Web 2.0 social networking create a true platform for education, collaboration, communications and art. I, for one, am wildly intrigued by the Pangea Day project and will be keeping a close eye out for more information. What first got my attention? This actually quite fantastic piece of viral video created by the Pangea Day people. If they wanted to get my attention, they certainly succeeded. More to come as Pangea Day comes together.

This week in Congress

There is a bill in Congress called The Effective Immigration Enforcement Partnerships Act of 2008 (S. 2717) whose purpose is (to quote Congress.org) "to provide local governments and law enforcement the resources, training, and authority to enforce U.S. immigration law at the local level. According to his website, aspects of the bill include:
-Clarifying their authority to enforce federal immigration laws during their normal course of duty
-Expanding the 287(g) program to every state. Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act authorizes state and local police to perform enforcement duties related to illegal immigration
-Offering a basic training course for all state and local law enforcement officers
-Compensating state and local entities for immigration enforcement related expenses

There are a couple of reasons I think this is a bad idea. First is that it will divert local law enforcement's focus and resources away from their main responsibility of dealing with local crime. But secondly, and in my opinion more importantly, it will cause illegal immigrants already living in the United States a complete distrust of local law enforcement. This means that those immigrants will not report crime in their neighborhoods or step forward to be witnesses for fear of being deported.

But in the interest of fair and balanced reporting, I will let you decide for yourselves and encourage you to let Congress know what you think no matter what side you are on. The links are below:

If you think that YES, local law enforcement should play a role in enforcing immigration law, click here:
http://capwiz.com/congressorg/utr/1/GFZHIEUKUE/CPSFIEUYWW/1802712426

If you think the NO, local law enforcement should not play a role in enforcing immigration law, click here:
http://capwiz.com/congressorg/utr/1/GFZHIEUKUE/AJYGIEUYWX/1802712426