February 25, 2008
Campaign Uncertainty
Sitting in my very suburban environment, I read the newpapers, several magazines and blogs. Almost every one gives me a sense that Barack is on a roll and can't be stopped from getting the nomination except by some chicanery by the Clinton campaign. Yet, despite all that I just read several articles indicating she was still ahead in polling in Ohio. From most of the articles I read one would think that he had already won. (HuffPo) It is all so very interesting.
I feel that the media likes to have a conclusion. They must think that uncertainty indicates weakness. They seldom take a longer view that this turmoil might be good. It is part of the political game. It also ensures that different views and perspectives are injected into the political process. The longer this goes on the more likelihood that lots of ideas get into the campaign. We get to see what works and what doesn't. We get to think about viewpoints and issues in ways we might not if the campaign was over too quickly. In addition, we get to see more of the candidates, especially under stress, when their true nature emerges from behind the curtain.
I think of the criticisms of American democracy and its high degree of uncertainty and flux in comparison to controlled states like the Soviet Union, China, Cuba, or now Russia. There is a certain ease when you don't have to deal with the contention and messiness of multiple opinions. It is often less efficient, however when taken in the long run, I would suggest that it actually builds a better society.
I also think that the game is a lot more fun if you don't find out who wins until the last second. Blowouts are a drag.
Posted by Chip Spear at 1:58 PM
Why is Barack Black?
I am very curious why the media, and most of the country considers Barack Obama to be "black" when he has a black father and a white mother. He is 50% white and 50% black, but always referred to as black by the media. Why is Halle Barry considered black also? She has a similar background. If they both marry white partners and have children, will they also be considered black? At what point do they become mixed race, or just Americans?
What is it about our country that we have to label people in this manner? Is it a function of our white culture to exclude those who do not appear to be "pure"? If you have some particular black characteristic, like kinky black hair, are you black?
I would contend that we are still a very racist society and the media does little to turn the re-orient the definitions. We should ask ourselves about the motivation behind the labels. What is going on? Who is scoring points here and who is losing?
Posted by Chip Spear at 1:50 PM
January 29, 2008
The Issue is No Longer Bush's Failed Play
We all know what a disaster Bush has been in far too many ways to bother itemizing. The issue now is with the response by the MSM to him and the Republican candidates. Given the disaster in Afghanistan, what is the Main Stream Media doing to adequately confront the President and the guys on the right running for his position? (AP)
Afghanistan risks sliding into a failed state and becoming the "forgotten war" because of deteriorating international support and a growing violent insurgency, according to an independent study.
The assessment, co-chaired by retired Marine Corps Gen. James Jones and former U.N. Ambassador Thomas Pickering, serves as a warning to the Bush administration at a time military and congressional officials are debating how best to juggle stretched warfighting resources.
What is their strategy? What are they gaining by not seriously questioning them? Why do they continue to defer to the O.I.L.? Why do they still believe what he says? Are they gaining something here?
Posted by Chip Spear at 6:24 PM
November 18, 2007
Political States
I have not written on this blog for almost a year. Partly because I needed to concentrate on making $ and partly because I felt that I had only negative things to say about the political system in the U.S. today. How in the world could anyone say anything remotely positive about what this idiot is doing in the White House? He is, in my opinion, a complete disaster. I could easily rant like everyone else in creation. But I refuse. I refuse to live a life consumed with negativity. I live it too much of every day. The specifics aren't too important as to why my life is particularly tough at the moment, but I will just say that I am doing everything I can to be positive and make everything and everyone I touch more positive too. So I stopped writing. But I am going to start again. At least, I am telling myself now that I am going to start. We shall see how long it lasts. So, hi to anyone who happens to stumble upon my little voice in the net.
Posted by Chip Spear at 7:43 PM
June 19, 2007
Bloomberg Hits One Out of the Park
I could not say whether I would support Bloomberg as a Presidential candidate, but he sure hit a home run when he said the U.S. is in serious trouble. (NYT)
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, sounding every inch the presidential candidate he insists he is not, brought his message of pragmatic, nonpartisan leadership to California on Monday, telling a crowd of Google employees that the nation was "really in trouble."
In unusually stark terms, Mr. Bloomberg expressed his frustration with the state of the nation, touching on campaign-style issues like the war in Iraq, immigration, education, health care and crime before a crowd of more than 1,000 employees at the Google campus here.
"Whoever out of those 20 becomes president I think has to do something about a country that I think is really in trouble," Mr. Bloomberg said, referring to the current crop of candidates. "There’s the war, there is our relationships around the world."
"Our reputation has been hurt very badly in the last few years," he continued, criticizing what he called a "go-it-alone mentality" in an increasingly interconnected world.
Some of the Democratic candidates have said much the same thing, but today's statement was stark and right on the money.
Posted by Chip Spear at 7:59 PM
June 15, 2007
North Korea gets the money
The issue regarding the transfer of $25 million is resolved. North Korea either has, or is getting its money. (Time) Now the North will start dismantling their nuclear weapon facilities. Yea, sure. Would you like to place a bet on that? I can't see the future, but I think it will be a long time before the North stops their program. I am interested to know what excuse(s) they will voice now.
Posted by Chip Spear at 12:41 PM | Comments (0)
June 8, 2007
Paris/OJ....How we love you
I just walked by a TV and saw a live feed from CNN. I was unfortunately watching a helicopter camera shot of the police car driving Paris Hilton to the court house. With all the problems and serious issues in the world, we are being bombarded with news stories about a spoiled, self-obsessed, rich brat who is going to jail because of her arrogance. Wow, what does that say about our culture and the media?
Posted by Chip Spear at 12:42 PM
June 6, 2007
Wacky Media
Have you had a feeling lately that something is screwy with the media? I am having a very hard time watching a lot of the political news shows these days. How can you really be interested in watching talking heads pontificate about the intricacies of the latest Presidential debate when we are more than 7 months away from the first caucus. The day after the 2006 November election, various cable shows grabbed the Presidential campaign like a pit bull on steroids and refuses to let go. I suppose it makes sense. How else are they going to fill there time? What would they talk about? More war? North Korea? No one cares about that. Education? Boring. Katrina? Too old.The contemptuous attitude of the Bushies? I think that one is too dangerous for the media's own self interest. Darfur? American's are more interested in American Idol and Dancing with the Stars.
We do live in a rather strange media driven world. Perhaps we, as a group, are too blame. The media only serves up what people will watch...I think. Of course, if we didn't watch the junk they would change the content until they found something else that was connecting with the viewers. I think this is all part of the reason I haven't been writing too much lately. I go through these periods of disgust with the whole thing, like we are just running around in circles saying the same thing over and over and over again. How often can you say that the Bushies are arrogant, paranoid, disrespectful leaders. Really. I don't know. Send me your thoughts.
Posted by Chip Spear at 1:21 PM
Oh Boy, Here We Go
The Iranians are playing around in Iraq and now we have the Turks crossing the northern border, chasing Kurdish rebels. (AP)
Several thousand Turkish troops crossed into northern Iraq early Wednesday to chase Kurdish guerrillas who operate from bases there, Turkish security officials told The Associated Press.
Two senior security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said the raid was limited in scope and that it did not constitute the kind of large incursion that Turkish leaders have been discussing in recent weeks.
And they are discussing bigger moves. Oh boy, a regional war. Just what we all hoped for, isn't it?
Posted by Chip Spear at 11:44 AM
May 24, 2007
Dems Slammed by Olbermann
Keith lays into the Dems for backing down on the Iraq troop withdrawal. (MSNBC) I won't bother putting in a little excerpt. You should read the whole thing.
It seems about right to me. They are cowards.
Posted by Chip Spear at 11:07 AM
May 22, 2007
O.I.L Hits One "Outta Here"
O.I.L (Our Illustrious Leader) smacked a big one out the park when the Dems backed off the timetable withdrawals. More than 3 weeks ago Pat Buchanan said on Hardball that the Dems would cave, and guess what? THEY DID. Anyway you spin it, this is another win for the Pres to keep on, keepin' on. To say that they are going to tie funding to Iraq benchmarks is garbage. That is putting the onus on an external player that we do not control in any way. In fact that player is playing another game, in another stadium. Forget that. This game is between Congress and O.I.L., and the slimy one smacked it.
Posted by Chip Spear at 2:42 PM
May 16, 2007
The Huge Falwell Legacy
I listened to David Gregory interview Chris Matthews yesterday morning while driving into work. Chris described Falwell's political impact on national politics. Matthews said that Falwell was responsible for bringing a huge group of fundamentalists into the political arena by appealing to their concerns that liberal attitudes were destroying the country. Matthews said that almost 30 million of the 127 million who voted in the last election were right wing fundamentalists somehow related to the Falwell movement. Matthews suggested that most of these people would not have voted if it had not been for Falwell. Think about that, almost 25% of the last election. That is an astounding number. 25% of voters were followers of a guy who said that the reason the terrorists flew those planes into the World Trade Center was because of our liberal values. He blamed the gays, liberals and anyone who believed in a woman's right to choose. They were the ones to blame. Hmmmmm.
Posted by Chip Spear at 7:21 AM
May 9, 2007
Kansas, a Katrina Replay
Well, the game seems the same, a big disaster, a slow response by the Feds and local agencies and a lot of blame. So what's at play here? Many state officials throughout the country have been warning the Feds that they were short of both manpower and equipment because of Iraq. Many asked the Feds to replace missing equipment taken for war duty. That has not happened. (NYT)
For months, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas and other governors have warned that their state National Guards are ill-prepared for the next local disaster, be it a tornado a flash flood or a terrorist’s threat, because of large deployments of their soldiers and equipment in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Then, last Friday night, a deadly tornado all but cleared the small town of Greensburg off the Kansas map. With 80 square blocks of the small farming town destroyed, Ms. Sebelius said her fears had come true: The emergency response was too slow, she said, and there was only one reason.
And the White House response?
Ms. Sebelius's comments about the slow response prompted a debate with the White House on Tuesday, which initially said the fault rested with her. Tony Snow, the White House press secretary, said the governor should have followed procedure by finding gaps after the storm hit and asking the federal government to fill them - but did not.
"If you don’t request it, you’re not going to get it," Mr. Snow told reporters on Tuesday morning.
The debate was reminiscent of the Bush administration’s skirmishes with Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco of Louisiana, also a Democrat, after Hurricane Katrina.
The states warn they there are potential troubles ahead in the event of a disaster. There is a disaster, the response is slow from the Feds and the White House blames the state for the problem. Sound familiar? Will the White House manage to convince the electorate that it was really on top of things? Who wins in this little blame game? It sounds so reminiscent of New Orleans that it is hard to expect a different conclusion.
Posted by Chip Spear at 8:37 AM
May 4, 2007
Kim Keeps Playing
I am almost thinking that the whole North Korea thing is a joke. Have you been following it? The recent deadline, March 15th, for North Korea to start shutting down its nuclear reactors, came and went with no action. The North Koreans complained that they were still unable to get $25 million held in a Macau bank. The U.S. indicated that they had arranged to get all the funds released. According to the North Koreans that has still not happened and as a result, they refuse to shut down their nuclear program. Unbelievable, really. The U.S. is saying there are "technical difficulties". That is a joke. We are talking about $25 million, chump change in terms of the U.S. budget and the world economy. It is like holding up negotiations because of a nickel. It there were a real problem the U.S. would get on the phone, or the North Koreans would get on a phone, make a couple of calls and get this resolved. But that is clearly not happening. The North Koreans, as I have repeatedly suggested, have no intention of shutting down their program.
Hill [Christopher Hill, the US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs] was hopeful that illicit North Korean funds frozen in a Macau bank and scheduled to have been returned by March 15 under the nuclear accord would be freed up soon. The process was said to have been held up by "technical issues."
I have not found any major U.S. newspaper following this story.
Posted by Chip Spear at 7:49 PM
May 2, 2007
The Withdrawal Game
It is certainly no surprise that the Congress sent O.I.L. a bill calling for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. And it is certainly no surprise that O.I.L. vetoed the bill, his second veto in six years. (NYT) The real fun begins now. I am very curious to see how the two players, O.I.L. and the Democratic leadership, find a way to resolve the impasse so they both can claim victory. Can we assume that they will agree to Iraqi benchmarks? That seems to be the prevailing projected scenario. How boring that would be. I am hoping for a surprise here.
Posted by Chip Spear at 7:55 AM
April 29, 2007
More Shocking News
Ah, the surprise, the surprise. (WashPo)
Many of the U.S. diplomats who received the message, however, were beginning to witness a more embarrassing reality. They knew the U.S. government was turning down many allies' offers of manpower, supplies and expertise worth untold millions of dollars. Eventually the United States also would fail to collect most of the unprecedented outpouring of international cash assistance for Katrina's victims.
Allies offered $854 million in cash and in oil that was to be sold for cash. But only $40 million has been used so far for disaster victims or reconstruction, according to U.S. officials and contractors. Most of the aid went uncollected, including $400 million worth of oil. Some offers were withdrawn or redirected to private groups such as the Red Cross. The rest has been delayed by red tape and bureaucratic limits on how it can be spent.
In addition, valuable supplies and services -- such as cellphone systems, medicine and cruise ships -- were delayed or declined because the government could not handle them. In some cases, supplies were wasted.
I forget, did I mention something about arrogance and incompetence?
Posted by Chip Spear at 7:28 PM
George Stephanopolis this morning
I watched part of George's show this morning on ABC. One of the guest of his roundtable discussion mentioned that the one thing he found most interesting about George Tenet's new book "At the Center of the Storm" was Tenet's strong conviction regarding the incompetence and arrogance of the White House. Oh my god, what a surprise.
The other topic of discussion related to the book was Tenet's view that the White House planned to invade Iraq before 9/11. This is not news either. I have mentioned in previous posts, though not for some time, that my friend Mike and I used to talk about the inevitability of invading Iraq long before 9/11. During on weekend roller-blading workouts we discussed the arrogance of the White House and how it seemed very clear to both of us that O.I.L. (Our Illustrious Leader) and Dick had detailed plans in the works to invade Iraq. If we knew that while sitting in the suburbs of Connecticut from just watching the tube, reading the NY Times, Wall St. Journal and a few on-line news sources, how in the world could this be a surprise to the Main Stream Media. This seems more like a media sucker punch to create something out of nothing.
Posted by Chip Spear at 5:02 PM
April 18, 2007
Surge Strategy Thrown for a Loss
Six bombings, 170 dead, 193 wounded today. Seems like the whole surge strategy thing is having a few problems. (CNN)
Posted by Chip Spear at 11:35 AM
Gun, Gun, Whose Got the Gun?
The recent shooting at Virginia Tech has moved the spotlight to that never ending political game of gun control. Some are saying that the shooting would never have happened if the student could not buy a gun. Maybe, I say. But that misses the point, as all these arguments do. No one, or at least very few people, wants to discuss the real issue at the heart of the gun control debate, which is the ability of Americans to use guns to overthrow a potentially repressive government. It is not that hard an issue to understand. It is the foundation of the gun lobby strategy. Why do you think that we don't hear that discussed on all those talking head shows? Now that would be very interesting.
Posted by Chip Spear at 8:49 AM
April 12, 2007
Live by the Sword, Die by the Sword
Don Imus was fired today from CBS radio. This follows his firing from MSNBC yesterday. If you happen to be reading this, I am not telling you news. You should already know this. So why mention it, you may ask.....well, I am an Imus listener. I turn him on at those moments when he has guests who discuss books, politics, sports, culture, etc, then I change stations. He is a complex man; nasty, funny, creative, smart, generous, mean. He lays it all on the table. That said I think that he is also racist. Even though he helps blacks, Hispanics, Jews and all races with his charities. And he supports black politicians like Harold Ford. I cannot believe that he is unaware of the plight of so many blacks in this country. He seldom has blacks on his show. He doesn't employee a black as his sidekicks, his sports person, his intern, his aide. He continually allows Bernard to tell racist jokes. He indulges a certain humor that repeatedly leans in the racist direction. He has done this for years. It is not a simple situation.
I think it is much easier to become famous by being negative. Be mean, nasty, rude, crude and people pay attention. Be nice, generous, considerate and most folks seldom give you the time of day, and that is too bad. It is not the media's fault, it is ours. It we were not so consumed by this sort of trash, then the media empires would not pander to it. Imus would be nothing and this would be no big deal But that is not want happens in our world.
Posted by Chip Spear at 9:10 PM
April 11, 2007
The North Korean Rope-a-Dope
They bob, they weave. Wherever you throw a punch, they seem to slip away. Yes folks the North Koreans, on the verge of shutting down their nuclear reactors seem to be sliding away from the mark. Do you think they will do it? Shut down those reactors? Do you, really? Not me. (CNA)
The United States expects North Korea to meet a Saturday deadline to fulfil its side of a landmark deal to rein in its nuclear programme, officials said on Wednesday, as news came from the reclusive state that its premier had been sacked.
I had a feeling that something would happen that would lead to another delay. One way or another that little guy is going to keep his nukes....that is my take.
Posted by Chip Spear at 8:50 PM
North Korea Nuclear Update
After all the money, all the effort and all the diplomatic gamesmanship, does anyone actually believe that the North Koreans are going to shutdown their reactor and suspend their nuclear program? (AP) I am hopeful, but highly skeptical.
If North Korea follows through with its promises, they would be the first moves Pyongyang has made to scale back its nuclear development since it kicked out international inspectors and in 2003 restarted its sole operating nuclear reactor.
But the hard-won agreement, reached four months after Pyongyang rattled the world by testing a nuclear device, was held up by the dispute over North Korean funds frozen in the Macau bank.
Authorities in the Chinese territory of Macau said Wednesday that North Korea can withdraw the money. Richardson said the Macau bank is expected to formally notify North Korea later Wednesday or Thursday that the regime can access its funds.
Acknowledging it might be difficult to meet the Saturday reactor shutdown deadline, Richardson called on the North to show goodwill and invite U.N. inspectors by then "to at least start the process of shutting it down."
Posted by Chip Spear at 8:47 AM
April 10, 2007
More North Korea Questions
What is going on here? (AP)
The optimism from U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill comes after the U.S.
Treasury Department said authorities in the Chinese-administered region of Macau are prepared to unblock the frozen funds that North Korea says are the reason it has refused to move forward on a disarmament agreement.The Macau government said it was aware of the Treasury statement and that it would work with all parties involved. "Simultaneously, it expects all parties concerned to come up with appropriate and responsible arrangements respectively," it said on its Web site.
A call to a spokesman of Banco Delta Asia, the bank where the funds are being held, was not immediately returned Tuesday. The lender had been blacklisted by Washington for allegedly helping the North launder money and its North Korean accounts were frozen. The bank has denied any wrongdoing.
Washington blacklists a bank in Macao for laundering money months ago. The money is frozen in the bank. Now the U.S. says that it is trying to get the money "unfrozen". Huh? What is the hold up? Why can't the bank now release the funds? It had been moving the money around quite easily, what is the problem now? Something is rotten in Denmark.
Posted by Chip Spear at 8:38 AM | Comments (0)
April 9, 2007
Something is happening here, and we clearly have no clue what it is
North Korea is once again balking at shutting down its nuclear program because of some "technicality" related to the release of $25 million stuck in a Macao bank. (CNA) This has been going on for some time now with no resolution.
The US point man on North Korea said on Monday it was uncertain whether a banking row could be resolved in time to meet this week's deadline in a breakthrough aid-for-disarmament deal.
Envoy Christopher Hill started a three-nation regional tour amid intense US diplomacy ahead of Saturday's deadline, which Japan and China have both publicly doubted can be met.
North Korea pledged in a six-nation deal in February to shut down its key Yongbyon nuclear facility and allow the return of UN nuclear inspectors by April 14 in return for badly needed fuel aid.
But the communist state has refused to move until it receives US$25 million of its money which was unfrozen from a Macau bank but has taken time to work its way to Pyongyang.
I know that the money came from illegal North Korean operations, or at least that is what the West contends. The thing I don't understand is why let a small sum of $25 million hold up the nuclear deal? I think there is much more going on than we are being told (once again).
Posted by Chip Spear at 7:56 PM
Fabulous Fumble of the Week - 4/8 - Don Imus
There is no question that this week's winner of Political Sports Fabulous Fumble of the Week is Don Imus for his racist comments of the Rutgers Women's Basketball Team. (AP)
Two of the nation's biggest media companies - CBS Corp. and NBC Universal - will ultimately decide the fate of Imus' daily program after he referred last week to members of the Rutgers women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos."
I admit that I listen to Imus on a regular basis. I find him interesting, complex, exasperating and problematic. I find myself turning him off, disgusted with his attacks, but I always turn him back on, usually targeting the precise times when he has guests, which usually run at 8 and 35 minutes after each hour. He and his cohorts often walk a very fine line with regard to political correctness. Don and Bernie seldom hold back while skewering of social, cultural and racial stereotypes. Most of their barbs attack more left oriented positions, but the right is not spared. In this case I feel he stepped out of bounds. It will be interesting to see if he manages to hold onto his job.
Posted by Chip Spear at 5:11 PM