The real story of the McCain scandal is the possibility that McCain traded favors for ... favors. It explains how Vicki Iseman, an lowly Education major from Indiana University (the one in Pennsylvania)got a job as a secretary in Washington DC and then in a few years rose to partner in a lobbying firm. She is the youngest partner at the lobbying firm of Alcalde. Her clients included PAXtv, Religious Voices in Broadcasting, Telemundo, the Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation, and Computer Sciences Corporation. She was obviously plugged in (or vice versa) to the power of Capitol Hill.
As far as his love life is concerned, I don't really care if McCain wants to divorce his current wife and marry a younger woman (again)... But if he keeps this up, we will soon see (in another 7 years) the strange picture of an eighty-year-old man marrying a 28-year-old girl.
As the news coverage unfolds about McCain and the story in the New York Times, it is becoming obvious that someone friendly to McCain's campaign (and probably the guy who is making the rounds of the cable news programs) is the key to this story. The NYT has obviously been working on this story since October, and the McCain campaign decided to lance this boil at this time, after McCain has essentially cinched the nomination and before the Republican Convention and the general election.
It was probably fairly easy to interest the New Republic in covering the story, and it served the purpose of forcing the NYT to publish the story as soon as possible.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Thursday, February 21, 2008
More-on McCain
While many people see the current scandal and (supposed) conflict between Senator McCain and the New York Times as evidence that "The Press" has now turned on their former "darling" McCain, I suspect that the truth is much more sinister.
McCain sits on a committee that oversees the FCC and is in a position to put pressure on many newspapers, particularly those that are owned by media conglomerates. There may have been a "romantic" relationship between Senator McCain, 71, and the lobbyist, Vicki Iseman, 40; but it seems that this "revelation" by the NYT comes at the best possible time for McCain.
1. Better now than in October. The Democrats had to be aware that this scandal would benefit them in the November election. They had no reason to want it to come out now. However the timing couldn't be better for McCain--he now has eight months to fight any brushfires from this scandal.
2. It forces the Right-Wing talk radio bloviators, like Rush Limbaugh, to rush to McCain's defense -- against the "big, bad" New York Times. McCain needs them now, to push Huckabee out of the race.
3. The NYT can be guaranteed to do a half-assed job on this story, much like the job CBS did in attacking G.W. Bush for leaving the Texas National Guard. We know, from statements made by still-living witnesses, that George W. Bush was indeed MIA, but the CBS news organization did such a lousy job of investigation that Bush was effectively "inoculated" against the truth. It seems like much the same thing will happen now with McCain.
McCain sits on a committee that oversees the FCC and is in a position to put pressure on many newspapers, particularly those that are owned by media conglomerates. There may have been a "romantic" relationship between Senator McCain, 71, and the lobbyist, Vicki Iseman, 40; but it seems that this "revelation" by the NYT comes at the best possible time for McCain.
1. Better now than in October. The Democrats had to be aware that this scandal would benefit them in the November election. They had no reason to want it to come out now. However the timing couldn't be better for McCain--he now has eight months to fight any brushfires from this scandal.
2. It forces the Right-Wing talk radio bloviators, like Rush Limbaugh, to rush to McCain's defense -- against the "big, bad" New York Times. McCain needs them now, to push Huckabee out of the race.
3. The NYT can be guaranteed to do a half-assed job on this story, much like the job CBS did in attacking G.W. Bush for leaving the Texas National Guard. We know, from statements made by still-living witnesses, that George W. Bush was indeed MIA, but the CBS news organization did such a lousy job of investigation that Bush was effectively "inoculated" against the truth. It seems like much the same thing will happen now with McCain.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Jumper -- the movie
I went to see the new film, Jumper, a hight-tech sci-fi wonder with tons of special effects and (the usual) poor writing that we have all come to expect from Hollywood. I am amazed that Hollywood studios are willing to invest tens of millions to make a film, but aren't willing to shell out a few grand extra to get good writers.
Every writer I talk to wants to go to Hollywood and write for films. There should be hundreds, if not thousands, of good writers who would like to do a screenplay. Then why is it that we get this horrid, crappy plots and lousy dialog... over and over and over again?
The Sci-Fi Channel movies are clearly the worst offenders in this area. Their films are horribly written.
I think the culprits are the producers and directors who think that, just because they can talk people into investing in a film and green-lighting its production, that they also have the talent to write. Eddie Murphy's _Vampire in Brooklyn_ is a case in point. According to the newspapers, Eddie and his brothers sat around a kitchen table, drinking beer and writing the screenplay.
It shows just how little regard Hollywood has for good writing. The recent writer's strike is proof (as if we needed any) that movie companies think of writers as noisy pests that they can do without.
And, as if that was bad enough, I had to sit through the entire film near an old woman who had some serious hygiene problem--as least I assume she had a serious hygiene problem since she obviously poured a whole bottle of perfume on herself before she left the house.
We had a Russian exchange student stay with us for three months (some years ago) and he did the same thing. Except that he used Old Spice cologne.
Every writer I talk to wants to go to Hollywood and write for films. There should be hundreds, if not thousands, of good writers who would like to do a screenplay. Then why is it that we get this horrid, crappy plots and lousy dialog... over and over and over again?
The Sci-Fi Channel movies are clearly the worst offenders in this area. Their films are horribly written.
I think the culprits are the producers and directors who think that, just because they can talk people into investing in a film and green-lighting its production, that they also have the talent to write. Eddie Murphy's _Vampire in Brooklyn_ is a case in point. According to the newspapers, Eddie and his brothers sat around a kitchen table, drinking beer and writing the screenplay.
It shows just how little regard Hollywood has for good writing. The recent writer's strike is proof (as if we needed any) that movie companies think of writers as noisy pests that they can do without.
And, as if that was bad enough, I had to sit through the entire film near an old woman who had some serious hygiene problem--as least I assume she had a serious hygiene problem since she obviously poured a whole bottle of perfume on herself before she left the house.
We had a Russian exchange student stay with us for three months (some years ago) and he did the same thing. Except that he used Old Spice cologne.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
All hail, George the Third
Now that John McCain is about to be anointed as the standard-bearer for the Republican Party in November, it is time for people to examine where McCain stands on the issues.
Numerous political observers have pointed out already that McCain's policies are practically identical with those of George W. Bush. The only significant difference is McCain's opposition to the "Bush tax-breaks" for the wealthy, because they contribute to the growing deficits. But this somewhat principled stand has been discarded, and now McCain whole-heartedly supports the whole Bush agenda.
Obviously, electing John McCain as President means four more years in Iraq and trillions of dollars wasted--poured down the same rat-hole as the trillions already spent in this disaster. The only people who want us to continue in this war is the Military/Industrial/Media Complex, the same people who got us into the war. They stand to gain billions in profits in selling weapons, not to mention the oil that they steal from Iraq.
Unlike past military adventures, for example the Boer War and other colonial adventures, the average person could count on some small boon from the minerals, oil, and other resources that are taken from the conquered and colonized nations.
But in the 21st century it is not the American people who will derive any benefit from the stolen wealth of Iraq. Instead they suffer from a growing deficit and a crippled economy.
The only ones who benefit from the war in Iraq are the international corporations, as they are stealing the financial and human resources of the home state (America) and stealing the oil resources of the colonized state of Iraq.
Numerous political observers have pointed out already that McCain's policies are practically identical with those of George W. Bush. The only significant difference is McCain's opposition to the "Bush tax-breaks" for the wealthy, because they contribute to the growing deficits. But this somewhat principled stand has been discarded, and now McCain whole-heartedly supports the whole Bush agenda.
Obviously, electing John McCain as President means four more years in Iraq and trillions of dollars wasted--poured down the same rat-hole as the trillions already spent in this disaster. The only people who want us to continue in this war is the Military/Industrial/Media Complex, the same people who got us into the war. They stand to gain billions in profits in selling weapons, not to mention the oil that they steal from Iraq.
Unlike past military adventures, for example the Boer War and other colonial adventures, the average person could count on some small boon from the minerals, oil, and other resources that are taken from the conquered and colonized nations.
But in the 21st century it is not the American people who will derive any benefit from the stolen wealth of Iraq. Instead they suffer from a growing deficit and a crippled economy.
The only ones who benefit from the war in Iraq are the international corporations, as they are stealing the financial and human resources of the home state (America) and stealing the oil resources of the colonized state of Iraq.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
And the Pulitzer goes to....
Any time you go to a bookstore, you can see dozens of novels that have won one prize or another. One of the most coveted prizes is the Pulitzer, but there are many lesser-known prizes, too. Some are legitimate awards and others are phony cocked-up awards created to promote a magazine. And then there are the awards created by publishers for the sole purpose of feeding the ego of a favorite writer. For example, recently a group of publishers got together and created a phony award to give to Stephen King. God knows that King would never win an award based on actual talent, so these guys decided to create an award for him. Nice!
The problem with many of these awards is that they are given to mediocrities by a committee made up of literary mediocrities. For example, giving the Pulitzer to _Middlesex_ is a case in point. The author of _Middlesex_ is an accomplished mediocrity--his writing is at a high level of mediocrity--but it is, nonetheless mediocre. His character of Callie is supposed to be female, but never actually escapes from his male viewpoint.
This is a problem when you set out to reward merit, but rely on mediocrities to select merit. There is always the Scalieri Factor, where the mediocrities conspire together against the truly talented and present an award to one of their own.
The problem with many of these awards is that they are given to mediocrities by a committee made up of literary mediocrities. For example, giving the Pulitzer to _Middlesex_ is a case in point. The author of _Middlesex_ is an accomplished mediocrity--his writing is at a high level of mediocrity--but it is, nonetheless mediocre. His character of Callie is supposed to be female, but never actually escapes from his male viewpoint.
This is a problem when you set out to reward merit, but rely on mediocrities to select merit. There is always the Scalieri Factor, where the mediocrities conspire together against the truly talented and present an award to one of their own.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Gay Marriage and Polygamy
Some right-wingers have unfairly (I think) attacked Mitt Romney for supporting gay marriage back when he was governor of Massachusetts. Personally, I think he only supported gay marriage because he saw it as a possible doorway to supporting the legalization of polygamy. Mitt's grandpa was a big-time polygamist who escaped into Mexico when polygamy was outlawed in Utah.
Now that Mitt is out of the race, the anti-gay marriage faction in the Republican Party can rest easy. No back-door legalization of gay marriage or polygamy.
By the way, I've heard that the License plate on Romney's truck has the number:
ELKHUNT
I'm not sure what that means... I guess it's a vanity plate.
Maybe it's a hispanic thing, since Mitt's grandpa moved here from Mexico.
Now that Mitt is out of the race, the anti-gay marriage faction in the Republican Party can rest easy. No back-door legalization of gay marriage or polygamy.
By the way, I've heard that the License plate on Romney's truck has the number:
ELKHUNT
I'm not sure what that means... I guess it's a vanity plate.
Maybe it's a hispanic thing, since Mitt's grandpa moved here from Mexico.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
