All talk, little action

Philadelphia - It is increasingly frustrating to listen to some of the folks here at the NAB Radio Show go on and on about all the great things radio has done in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, while at the same time ignoring the fact that a few big corporations have destroyed this industry. Radio has done some great things in recent weeks: Helping to raise almost $200 million for hurricane relief, airing countless PSA encouraging people to help out, and collaborated within networks to get information out to the people. NAB attendees were given celebratory "Radio: Respond, Relief, Rebuild," lapel pins for our efforts, something I've proudly worn while here. As well, as an industry, radio offered $9.6 billion of community service last year alone. But about what radio does the other 50 weeks of the year?
This is the big question I am thinking about for the bulk of the day on Thursday while I hear over and over how great the radio industry is and yet I know it not to be true. If I hear "we have a great story to tell ..." one more time without addressing what is in the story, I am going to puke. What is in the story isn't a "story" at all; it is scheme or gimmick or a trick to get more ads and revenue instead of giving the listener competence and quality. And, you know, getting ads and revenue is good. Radio needs advertising to survive. After all, unless you are NPR or an affiliate, it is a business. But the "great story" should also address content issues, and no one wants to touch those here.
For the last 10 years, even before the destructive Telecom Bill of 1996, radio has been de-localizing its formats to gain more and more profit for shareholders, much to the detriment of communities. I actually heard a comment from one guy from Clear Channel who said that most of the stations which were consolidated were, paraphrasing, 'a bunch of mom and pops near bankruptcy anyway' which is just not true.

Sidebar: I touched upon a little bit about this in my posts from the NAB/RTNDA convention I attended earlier this year ["NAB/RTDNA: Second day"].

Radio has the instantious ability to share stories with people right away. And we should be. But, if a company has a bottom line and won't spend the $20k to hire a daytime reporter to share the local stories, you aren't going to be able to share those stories. As well, the perception that "less is more" when that isn't altogether true is disturbing. Less is more if you are distracting.

Be remarkable
Thursday morning opens with goodbye remarks from NAB President/CEO Eddie Fritts and an amusing presentation by Seth Godin, a marketing writer, who's talk was called "Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable."
Fritts called radio "deeply invested in the community" and promoted localism despite the fact that the transformation occurred under his watch. He also quoted Ronal Reagan a lot.
Before his talk, Godin noted that before being asked to talk before NAB, an intern had thrown up some of his own words to his face - about how bad radio was. But Godin followed that up with ways of improving things.
One of the ways Godin proved his point is by noting that some things don't always succeed. He stated that sliced bread was actually a failure business-wise, by the inventor. It wasn't until Wonder Bread took the idea and marketed it and presto, everyone wanted it. Godin made some very good points about the clutter in people's lives and how marketers have the power to interupt that clutter. Even with limited spectrum, radio had to figure out a way to get its message through. It is important not to be boring, he said. Radio should be something worth talking about and should tell stories because it has the power to make people feel a certain way.
But in even all his massaging of information and cute ideas which have broken through in the past, most of Godin had to say boiled down to this: People are sheep - use it against them to make money.

Disappointingly, a session on the Changing State of Talk Radio, hosted by Talkers Magazine, a mag I used to read a lot when their subscription rate wasn't $75 a year, became bogged down in a love fest between a guy from Clear Channel, Gabe Hobbs, the vice president of news/talk programming, and Ken Beck, the vice president of news/talk/sports for Entercom Communications, owner of WRKO in Boston [so many vice presidents, everywhere].

Sidebar: Hobbs and I had an interaction earlier this year in Vegas when I suggested to a panel of radio news folks that they were being irresponsible in their coverage of Michael Jackson and Martha Stewart and news directors should be airing important issues to the public. You can read part of that here: ["NAB/RTDNA: Second day"]. Hobbs stated that it wasn't the job of news directors to direct the news, a puzzling statement, to say the least. I have been meaning to transcribe the interaction between myself and network news panelists, which I have on mp3, but I just haven't had the time. Maybe I will at some point soon because it is relevant to read at this time. It will give a clear understanding as to why things are so screwed up in the news business.

Another panelist was a woman who and did actually attempt to steer the conversation back to where talk radio was going. I thought her name was listed in the program, so I didn't write it down, but when I went looking for it later, I couldn't find it. I think she was with one of the smaller collection of stations. There was also some side conversation about syndication, featuring comments from Doug Stephan and Neal Boortz.

Sidebar: It was interesting to hear Stephan talk because he seemed to be downplaying whether or not the political position of a host could influence the public square. I was disheartened by this because unlike probably everyone in the audience, I recall Stephan during his Talk America days, when he hosted mornings on their flagship station, 1510 AM in Boston, glorifying the NAFTA position. It was clear from his take on the issue that someone "got to him." And when I say that, I don't mean that he was cornered by the mob or anything. But he was clearly cornered by a wonk who he respected or an advertiser of his show who filled his head up with happy talk. There was a lot of that going around at the time, BTW, as there always seems to be when public policy that screws with the ordinary folks gets rushed through. The listeners of the network got pretty ticked off and Stephan got hammered for taking this position, which was surprising at the time because he was on the fence for a long time and seemed like a competent guy. In the end, NAFTA passed and turned into exactly what we all said it would be: A failed public policy, similar to the 1996 Telecom Act and a lot of what Clinton and the Republican Congress did. Not long after NAFTA's passage, 1510 started getting passed around between owners and I stopped listening to anything Stephan had to say.

I left the seminar when it was revealed that it would turn to a discussion on lifestyle talk, women's talk, Latino talk, and sports talk. No offense to Hispanics or women or sports guys, but I had enough of fluff for one day.

A big failure of this convention is the lack of information about content. Almost all of the seminars I have gone to had interesting titles but end up always coming down to revenue, share, profits, and ads, and nothing about content. This shouldn't surprise me when I realized later that the theme of the convention was the following: "Rally Around Radio - Listen. Learn. Profit." But I digress: There was a lot of good information about marketing and boosting a station's presence, things I am definitely interested it, but it would have been nice to hear a bit more about content.

Independence Hall
Before going to dinner, my boss and I decided to take in some history and took a quick one mile walk down to the Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell exhibit. Interestingly - and annoyingly - the security to see the Bell was tighter than the airports I have been in and out of in three different locations around the country. It was cool to see the Bell but I wasn't as overwhelmed by it as I thought I would be. The Hall, however, was pretty impressive. Intricate architecture and structure, you could almost feel the Founders arguing in the rooms. The guide gave us a bit of unknown history such as the fact that July 4th wasn't the actual day that the declaration was read and signed. That was July 8th. July 4th wasn't even the day it was written. That was July 2nd. The document was printed on July 4th. Another interesting point was that John Hancock actually wanted to be the commander of the Continental Army but since George Washington came to the first meeting dress in full military regalia, he was nominated and unanimously chosen to lead the army. I wonder if the outcome would have been different if John Hancock had led the forces. On the walk back, we were at a crosswalk along Market Street just before the convention hall and there was a lot of traffic when an ambulance was trying to get through the street. The people stuck at the light didn't know what to do and I helped a guy in an SUV move out of the way of the ambulance. However, this black guy and his wife, an Asian woman, in a new Lexus wouldn't move out of the way of the ambulance. All of sudden, this guy next to me starts motioning at the guy to move but he still wouldn't. So, I decided to jump in as well, yelling at the guy to move his car out of the way, and even asking the SUV to move over to create move room, which he did. But, the guy in the Lexus still wouldn't move. Eventually, he pulled into traffic, the ambulance passed. The four of us standing at the crosswalk kinda looking at each other dumbfounded that someone, in 2005, would be so obnoxious and indifferent to an emergency vehicle attempting to get through traffic. You would think in this day and age, that people wouldn't be so ignorant.

Marconi Awards
One of the highlights of the annual NAB Radio Show is its Marconi Awards dinner which was held in the grand ballroom of the Pennsylvania Convention Center. The food itself was actually pretty good and we were seated with a programmer from an independent classical music station in St. Louis which didn't end up winning its category. But the conversation was good.
Of course, by no surprise, big corporate station chains won the bulk of the awards with some people in the crowd clearly believing that the process was rigged for nomination and possibly even the awards themselves. Pill-popping me-first ogre Rush Limbaugh [or Limboob as I call him, much to the chagrin of my BRI list chatters], won Network Syndicated Personality of the Year. Small Market Personality of the Year winners Ward Jacobson & Cathy Blythe of KFOR won. Blythe was adorable in her acceptance speech, talking about how her daughter spent many years tucking her into bed so she could be up at 3:15 a.m. to do morning drive in Lincoln, Nebraska. Blythe said she was proud of her daughter who has decided to go into broadcasting school.
There were also some lowlights of the evening - like mixed humor from Kidd Kraddick, a syndicated clown from Dallas, who emceed the show. He did a pretty funny bit about the Payola scandals in the radio business which left many of the corporate mucky mucks in the crowd aghast. That isn't such a big thing, is it? But his crude jokes about having sex with Dr. Laura and jokes about Bush and Clinton, hand puppets and all, went over like lead balloons. Needless to say, we left early.

More consolidation coming ...

Philadelphia - At the same time that advances in technology put the radio business in flux, heavy-hitters from the industry are warning that more consolidation will be coming.
At the first "Super Session" of the 2005 National Association of Broadcaster Radio Show Convention, entitled "Broadcast Financing 2005: Radio on the Rebound," panelists from a number of major banks and large radio companies predicted about $5 billion in station sales and transactions over the next few years and many did not believe the challenges facing the industry - podcasting, news from the Web, FCC problems or satellite radio - would affect this trend or profits in the future.
However, one panelist, Peter Smyth of Greater Media, Inc., which owns four stations in the Boston including political talk WTKK, said his company was not going to expand just for the sake of expanding. Greater Media, he said, was going to embrace technology issues and he saw them as an opportunity and not a hindrance. Smyth also noted that the future of radio was to "get back to basics" by connecting with listener communities and create "localisms."
"Radio needs to regroup," he said.

Sidebar: It should be noted that while many of the Greater Media Boston stations have local disc jockeys on their music stations, they also have some syndication, which puts local folks out of work. On its talker, WTKK, the company has syndicated hosts Bill O'Reilly, Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity, and Don Imus, as well as formerly syndicated - soon to be future - Jay Severin. All of these hosts are considered conservative in their politics in what some people say could potentially be a profitable liberal listening area. There are a couple of local hosts who have one hour programs - including liberal Jim Braude who shares a show with more moderate Boston Herald columnist Margery Eagan. Plagiarist Mike Barnicle also has a one hour show. I don't know what other talk stations are like at Greater Media, but his comments about localism in the Boston area rings a tad hollow.

Gary Lawrence of First Broadcasting Investment Partners, LLC, said that banks were eager to invest in radio consolidation, noting that there was no shortage of money available. He called the market "very resilient," adding, that no one he has known has been unable to to get money.
Elliot Evers, of Media Venture Partners, LLC, said there was great expectation for growth because "the weighted cost of capital is historically low."
"There is a good environment on pricing of debt," he said. "As long as you can buy money cheaply, there will be more multiples."
Another panelist called the lending environment "robust" because of expected growth potential and the industry's high value.
There was also a lot of banking talk at the seminar - since this was sponsored by Dickstein Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky LLP, a New York law firm.
Outside of this particular event, there was a lot of talk about the fact that many radio stations are over-valued and the asking prices are way too high. I overheard a conversation between a middle-aged man from the Bay Area looking to buy a station and some other folks. The man looking to buy complained about costs or the fact that whatever he could afford was junk. I retorted, "One man's junk is another man's treasure," and added that new buyers had to start small and build up. The potential buyer agreed to a point. Then again, he could have been just blowing steam out of his backside. Who knows if he was really a potential buyer or not.
I had a pretty good lunch in the Reading Terminal, an area similar to Fanuiel Hall in Boston, with markets and sandwich places, but no, I didn't have a Philly cheese steak.

Station 'culture' and newspapers of the future
Later on in the day on Wednesday, I attended two interesting conversations about radio: The culture of your company office and whether a station Web site will become the newspaper of the future. What was interesting these talks was the fact that both dealt with the long-term health of a radio station or media company. If you don't have a pleasant and healthy work environment [hence culture], there is a good chance you would be able to keep good employees happy; if your station [or company] can't modernize, you won't be able to stay alive in an every-changing and competitive atmosphere of the current technological wave.
The panelists for Awesome Station Culture ... No Matter Who You Work For - like many of the talks here - were representatives of a slew of corporate behemoths: Clear Channel, Cox, and Entercom. They were supposed to have a local person on the panel but they didn't show up. Not that there is anything wrong with that. But sometimes, the folksy approach, is better than technocratic approach. The point: It would have been nice to hear from a small market owner or operator about improving station culture, that's all.
What attracted me to this seminar was the first section of the description: "They say you can tell whether a station's successful by the vibe you feel in the lobby ..." Isn't that the truth?
I thought the talk was pretty good but a lot of it was management [again, technocratic] gobblygook. Some of it was positive - complement your employees at least once a week, end conflicts before they simmer or explode, and have meetings which result and tangible instruction/discussion and delegation of new things to be done, etc. But if much of the information was implemented, no one could fit it into an ordinary day. If you did everything that was proposed, you wouldn't get any work done! Hence the term, management. Hah!

The other seminar, Your Radio Website: The Newspaper of the Future?, was more interesting but also dealt more with marketing and sales revenues, and less about content.
The guy promoting this talk, Roger Utnehmer, an owner of three stations in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, addressed a number of key issues including the importance of local content. In a town of 8,000, he has three full-time reporters who cover news, videotape events, and Webstream everything. They cover the big stuff and the small stuff. They Webstream five football games every Friday night. Their site - DoorCountyDailyNews.com - also looks like a newspaper, which is pretty cool. How does he finance the expenses such as a T-1 line, reporters, etc.? He concentrates on the local, auctions off his barters and other items to listeners in a Saturday morning shopping/auction show, and goes after potential clients with a vengence. Utnehmer described himself as "a politically progressive capitalist pig" ... an interesting comment, to say the least.
But throughout the presentation, I just couldn't believe what I was hearing - how could such a small outfit like his be making $25k to $40k per month? How could they be getting $3,500 from car dealers to put mini three minute TV ads on the Web? Impossible. I just can't believe it. I didn't say anything negative to him in person. In fact, I commended him for his commitment to local journalism and sports. But, he is either the best snake oil salesmen ever or a brilliant genius. Maybe, he is some form of the two!
What helped make me feel this way was the presentation by Dave Casper of RAB, who showed everyone how to set up your own auction system, through his company, of course, as a way of making more money. While there wasn't any pressure at all to sign up, there was a blur between the two, which was a bit odd.
Again, like I said, there wasn't much about how the content of the Web site could become the newspaper of the future or compete for people attempting to get news; just how a station could potential bust the gut of a local newspaper by going after their advertisers.

Later, I attended a Super Session roundtable about programming which wasn't too bad either. The Super Sessions are held in the large ballroom and have video cameras and large screens.
There was a lot of talk about reinventing formats and being unpredictable, like a late night talk show, and trying to be local and relevant. There was also some digital radio talk and also anticipation about Arbitron's new PPM or "portable people meter" system which is supposedly going to replace the handbook they send out to gather ratings.
The group also spoke about some of the best promotions they had seen of late. There was the gas promo - set up months before prices boomed; there was one thing that a DJ did to help a teenager with learning disabilities go on his first date; there was also a silly fugitive game, where the DJ described the person who people should seek out in the city and the first person to figure out who it was would win a prize; there was also a promotion tying in the Hummer H3 SUV and a trip to Hawaii, aimed at 18-plus men called "Win a Hummer in Hawaii ..."

I had probably one of the best dinners ever at Morton's Steak House. Every place around the convention center was booked solid and this was the only place that fit us in. Also, I was able to hang out with my former colleague, Kristina Arvanitis, the former reporter for The Star, for a quick beer at the Monk's Cafe. I was so proud to hear that she is doing so well in law school and even made the law review. That is so awesome!

Oops
Due to a slight problem trying to get up and running with the computer, I was unable to blog yesterday. The Wi-Fi at the PCC is spotty at best. When I went back to the same place I was earlier, I was no longer able to get the feed. Very odd.
However, a lot of interesting things have been happening here. I will write some of them up and make a post later on today.

Bloggin' from NAB
With free Wi-Fi coming from the Philadelphia Convention Center, I have decided to blog live from the radio conference sponsored by the National Association of Broadcasters. Check back for interesting posts about what is going on in radio right now ... in as close to real time as I possibly can get!

In an Iggy kinda mood

How busy am I? Boo hoo. I got this cool Iggy Pop DVD "Live at the Avenue B" for my birthday more than a month ago and I am just getting to watch it now ... very loud ... and it is so wonderful. It is amazing that this guy is 58, jumping around, like he is 12. And he still rocks as hard as he ever did!
Actually, there is something to be said for old rockers of late. I saw Lou Reed live on CN8 from some place in California and he was pretty good too. He still has that amazing Fernando Saunders playing bass with him too which is great.

The sucky music industry
How bad are things? Check out this pretty good overview in the New York Daily News about the payola scandal going on in the music which you don't hear word one about except in the newspapers: ["Sleazy listening "]. I especially love this line:

Daniel Glass, CEO of New York-based Artemis Records, a small company with a limited promotion budget, said the impact of payola is demonstrated by the scant radio time given independent releases.
"We are 23% to 28% of record sales, but we're 3% to 7% of radio airplay," he said.

Pathetic. That is the thing about the world today - almost everything is effin' rigged. Airplay on the radio is rigged. Rescue attempts are rigged. Government contracts are rigged. The stock market is rigged. Gas prices are rigged. The tax code is rigged. You name it; it's rigged. It makes me want to pull out Iggy's "Search and Destroy" ... Hah!

"Takin' on the Kennedys ..."
What are Kevin Scott's odds? ["Republican maverick to oppose Ted Kennedy; Belongs to the "Howie Carr" school of thought"]. I wonder ... although the Carr connection can't hurt. It will be a long shot but who knows?
This reminds me about this great documentary produced by a guy who lived in Somerville about Kevin Converse, this congressional candidate in Rhode Island, who ran again Ted Kennedy's recovering addict son Patrick "Patches" Kennedy. It was partially taped on those Fisher Price 8 mm cameras and followed this moderate Republican doctor, who worked with AIDS patients BTW, while he got pummeled by the Kennedy machine. It was aired on PBS of all places and it was something else to watch.
Someday, I hope it comes out on DVD, because it was a pretty good film.
Speaking of Carr, he has a book coming out: "The Brothers Bulger" ... I can hardly wait!

A class act
How about this? The weekend before the NYC primary, I happened to be in the area helping my inlaws pack up their home to move south. It was a pretty interesting trip ... made all the more interesting after leaving the Washington, D.C. area, entering into the deepest of Red States south, with cotton fields, southern twangs, friendly people, and really low food and gas prices. But that is another story.
Before leaving the New York area, I was able to catch some of the NYC primary ads in what one person could easily consider another brutal Democratic primary. However, something happened: One of the losing Democrats - who could have pushed for a run-off and possibly wounded the eventual nominee, like what happened to Mark Green a few years back - bowed out! ["Concession Sets Up Bloomberg-Ferrer Race"]. How about that, huh? Maybe there is hope for some pols after all.

A Hard Lesson
Guest Perspective: Roy Morrison
On Tuesday, last week, my son Sam started the seventh-grade in middle school. My friend Luanne's son left on a plane for duty in Iraq. And it became clear that the storm that had "missed" New Orleans did nothing of the kind.
The worst offense in this week that shamed America was not just the Bush administration's manifest failures. What cuts deepest was their refusal to call for help from the American people when clearly the job of saving the afflicted in New Orleans and other storm-ravaged towns was beyond them.
It was only on the Sunday before Labor Day that we heard that the NAACP had mobilized black churches, that Moveon.org had recruited thousands to open their homes, that ambulances and aid had started to stream south from all over the country. Nearby, in Claremont, residents are collecting food and clothing for Mississippi. The trickle of help is now becoming a grassroots torrent.
The lesson of the week is not just that the Bush gang is incompetent and callous, a bunch of well-connected lightweights that have disgraced our nation. Almost everyone in the world has seen that. The really hard lesson we need to learn is that they have once again stopped the American people from taking effective action in time of greatest peril and greatest need.
After Sept. 11, when real discussion was underway about the meaning of the attacks, about what America should do and be in the world, when commercials disappeared from the televisions for two weeks, our fearless leader advised Americans not to volunteer, not to sign up and come to the aid of our country. Oh no, George W. Bush told us to go shopping, go to work, and take those airline vacation trips.
The newly anointed War against Terror, soon to become (although we didn't know it yet) an invasion of Iraq, was to be left to the professionals - the source of all wisdom and intelligence - who would keep us safe. Sure they have. Osama bin Laden must be laughing at us once again in his burrow watching CNN.
I'd like to think that on Wednesday, when the scope of the disaster became apparent, our government would have called able bodied men and women with some relevant skills to go to New Orleans, and that some of my neighbors, even me, would have responded.
On Newmarket Road in Warner, for example, there is Doug the logger, mechanic and heavy equipment operator; Peter, a Master Diver Trainer, EMT, and firefighter; Alan, a professional blaster and artist ... with a backhoe. I ride around with a sea kayak on top of my car. Lena, who's back in Warner, did in-home child care for my son Sam. She lived for some time in New Orleans, working at building Mardi Gras floats for crews. She could have provided guidance.
But we'll never know if we would have responded to the challenge. Instead of telling tales of help being on the way, the Bush crew could have called upon the American people for assistance. Beyond just sending dollars, lots of us would have gone because our neighbors were going.
But that would be a different America, a self-reliant and confident democracy. Instead, we are sacred and forlorn; disgusted with our government and with what our country has permitted and with what we are becoming.
It's time to take back America from this gang for all our sakes. And it's time for us to say to those who suffered unnecessarily in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, not just that we are sorry, but, to the extent we are able, how can we help?
Roy Morrison is an energy consultant and writer in Warner. His latest book, "Eco Civilization 2140: A 22nd Century History and Survivor's Journa," is forthcoming.

CBGBs
I haven't been on top of this CBGBs story because I don't keep track of a lot going on in NYC. But one of my old haunts is fighting its life and has now been served its eviction notice: ["CBGBs Served With Eviction Notice"]. What is really intriguing about this is the Gov. George Pataki and Mayor Michael Bloomberg, both Republicans, are with the punks, new wavers, and indie rockers, in trying to save the institution against developers. Wow.

Bush approval sliding ... but Kerry still wouldn't win
This latest Zogby International poll is downright scary: ["Bush Job Approval Hits 41%—All Time Low"]. And, it isn't just scary because he is below 50 percent and falling. It is scary because the pathetic soulless yuppie John Kerry still wouldn't be able to beat Bush if the election were re-held today! That is shocking.
Sidebar: This is a hilarious post on Daily Kos from Monday about what would have happened to Kerry on talk radio had he been elected: ["Transcript: Rush Limbaugh Tears Pres. Kerry a New One"].

Other headlines
This is so upsetting: ["AP: 300 Ga. Businesses Got 9/11 Loans"]. We were all affected by the Sept. 11 attacks. We all lost friends, and friends of friends. We all took benefit cuts or worked years without raises because business was bad. Sure, some of us more than others were harmed. But what are developers and day care centers getting these loans but folk in NYC aren't? What kind of insanity is that?
This is also upsetting: ["I just got back from a FEMA Detainment Camp"]. Very strange stuff here and I don't know how legit it is. But, I have always been fascinated by the conspiracy theories that have been attached to FEMA. I remember in the early 1990s that some of the shortwave radio hosts and others on small networks were talking about "concentration camps" that were building built around the country and trains would bring people to these camps and no one knew about them or why they were being built. It was all pooh-poohed of course; mostly because the folks who were talking about it weren't considered credible at the time by everyone in the media, whatever that means. But this is really interesting because it looks like an actual detainment camp and we now the both rail and buses are being used to move people out of New Orleans. Very strange. Very strange indeed.
This would be upsetting ... if it weren't so pathetic: ["Rod Stewart Ordered to Pay for Vegas Show"]. Gee, you get paid $2 mil ... you don't show up ... you keep the money ... and, why are we having this conversation again? Pay up Rod, you friggin' dead beat.
This should be upsetting: ["Poor, Black, and Left Behind"]. If you read this too quickly, you would never believe that it was written more than a year before Katrina.

Project Censored
The latest list of important stories which never made it into the mainstream press has been released by Project Censored: ["Outrageous and uncovered"]. As always with this group, there is a lot of good stuff to take in and this text is the abbreviated version. However, I would advise that readers spend the $12 and buy the expanded paperback book edition which will be available on Sept. 28. It keep the outfit running and is always a good read.
This year, however, I am a bit disappointed that the issue of exit polling and alleged vote fraud made it into the list in the "Another year of distorted election coverage" segment. It is a good point to say that maybe the mainstream press should have given this issue more thorough coverage; but it is based on assumptions that don't always hold true. You cannot predict an election's result based on sampling 1/1,000 or 1/10,000 or 1/100,000 of one percent. The "eight million vote discrepancy" they speak of is a guess based on sampling; not actual votes being counted, and therefore does not "prove" fraud in any way. Exit polling is a sampling; it isn't the end all and be all. It is a way of gathering some interesting information about what the electorate is thinking but it doesn't tell you how they actually voted since it isn't based on actual votes; just a survey.
The problem is that political people live by their tools and die by their tools. Exit polling also doesn't take into account a whole lot of voting factors and anomalies which happen during elections. It also doesn't take into account that some people refuse to answer exit polling and that refusal can sway the results.
For example, let's say a hippie college student is sent to collect information for exit polls in a Republican district which doesn't like hippies too much. There is a good chance that only people comfortable being near hippies would fill out the survey. This would sway the results of the district on the exit poll to John Kerry by no fault of the process, with the data showing the opinions of the hippie supporter and not the people who didn't like the hippie. The data from one area is not reflective of the district as a whole based on one single factor: The appearance of the data collector.
I will use another example: Let's say there is exit polling data being collected in a very liberal area but someone on NPR joked that voters shouldn't answer exit polling surveys. The commentator suggests that this would create a hidden Kerry surprise because the early data would show President Bush comfortably in the lead. There is a good chance that the liberals listening to NPR would go back to their jobs and not fill out the surveys, isn't there? This would skew the sample from what should be a strong Kerry district and a dangerous assumption would be made with that data.
A thoughtful person can create any combination of these factors and easily make assumptions about the data collected for exit polling and prove that the data can't be trusted.
Add to this the fact that almost every conservative commentator - from Sean Hannity on down - was begging people on thousands of radio stations across the nation to get out and vote because John Kerry was leading in the early exit polling. This happened all day long after the first two rounds of exit polling data - at 9 a.m. and noon - were released to the news agencies and subscribers. The data showed a Kerry landslide. And, as we have seen, the data later showed a confident Kerry win. So confident were the sources that about five representatives from Massachusetts were already gearing up for the special election to fill Kerry's Senate seat even before the votes were counted. The data was wrong.
Time and time again, even before electronic voting machines, exit polls have been proven wrong. Just a few examples from here in our own state of New Hampshire: The 1988 Republican Presidential primary where George H. W. Bush was down by nine points before the election but ended up beating then-Sen. Bob Dole by eight percent, a 17-point spread, after the votes were counted ... and that was before indies were allowed to vote in primaries! Another example? CBS News calling the 1996 Senate race for Dick Sweat around 7 p.m. on national television against Republican incumbent Bob Smith, based on exit polls, even though polling locations were still open in the state! Those are just two from one state. I'm sure there are many more examples if anyone took the time to do the research.
There is no doubt in anyone's mind that what went on in Ohio - with the setting up of fewer voting machines in Democratic strongholds so there were long lines, discouraging turnout - was criminal. It is also interesting to think back to election night, seeing helicopters hovering over places like Cincinnati, shooting film of a lot of city folk standing in line to vote, and juxtaposed that with the helicopters taking pictures of a lot of city folk waiting to get rescued in New Orleans.

Disastrous
It is shocking what happened to the southern part of our country in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Here are some people you can call to help and donate to the cause. It is going to take a lot of time and effort to help these people. If we all do our small part, their suffering will be minimal. I plan on giving blood on Friday and making a small donation to a charity:

American Red Cross, 800-HELP-NOW (435-7669) English, 800-257-7575 Spanish.
America's Second Harvest, 800-344-8070.
Adventist Community Services, 800-381-7171.
Catholic Charities USA, 800-919-9338.
Christian Disaster Response, 941-956-5183 or 941-551-9554.
Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, 800-848-5818.
Church World Service, 800-297-1516.
Convoy of Hope, 417-823-8998.
Lutheran Disaster Response, 800-638-3522.
Mennonite Disaster Service, 717-859-2210.
Nazarene Disaster Response, 888-256-5886.
Operation Blessing, 800-436-6348.
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, 800-872-3283.
Salvation Army, 800-SAL-ARMY (725-2769).
Southern Baptist Convention Disaster Relief, 800-462-8657, Ext. 6440.
United Methodist Committee on Relief, 800-554-8583.

Coulter gets dropped
Finally, a newspaper, The Arizona Daily Star, has had enough: ["Opinion pages get a makeover"].

More words. More letters. No more Ann Coulter. ... Finally, we've decided that syndicated columnist Ann Coulter has worn out her welcome. Many readers find her shrill, bombastic and mean-spirited. And those are the words used by readers who identified themselves as conservatives.

That's the thing: People are really sick of being yelled at, whether you agree with the opinion of the person screaming or not. I can tell you that I got tired of going to some functions hosted or sponsored by liberal groups which I used to like to go to after I was constantly being accosted for being a white male, the repressor of the world. I tolerated it for a long time. But then, I got sick of it and stopped supporting good people who mean well but are just plain mean sometimes.
The sad thing about Coulter and others is that it didn't have to be this way. When President Clinton was in office, I really liked a lot of what Ann Coulter had to say. She was dead-on about the then-predator-in-chief. But then, like so many conservatives who were right to be repulsed by Clinton, they didn't follow through when President Bush did things that were just as offensive. As the slogan on Freeway Blogger goes, "No one died when Clinton Lied." Had those conservatives gone after Bush with the same zeal they went after Clinton, I wouldn't mind some of the outrageous things they'd said. But, they didn't. They fell in line - the same way Democrats and women - fell in line behind Clinton.

A new blog
The Seacoast area of New Hampshire has a new blog: ["Blog the Coast"]

I forgot to post this earlier
Bob Costas: King of Commonsense: ["Costas Refuses to Host Show on Holloway"]. Of course, with Katrina, most news orgs will forget Natalee.

Eminent domain
I also forgot to post this great story in the Village Voice about the New York Times getting a nice chunk of NYC real estate - by eminent domain: ["'Times' to Commoners: Go Elsewhere"]. This is so outrageous it isn't even funny.

Jehlen wins!
Congratulations to my former state representative and aquaintaince Patricia Jehlen who won a hard-fought primary tonight in the 2nd Middlesex District, the seat formerly held by the late Charlie Shannon: ["Charlie Shannon: RIP"]. The district represents my old hometown of Somerville and Winchester, the town I wrote about for more than 2.5 years. She will face Republican Bill White, an alderman from Somerville, but will probably win easily in the Democratic-majority district. Jehlen, a grandmother, won handily by more than 2,000 votes. Jehlen beat a former rep., a governor's councilor, and Winchester's insipid state representative, Paul Casey, who came in last with about 13 percent of the vote.
Interestingly, the race came down to which candidate was the most "progressive" and not the usual, which candidate is most "electable." This is a surprising - and pleasant - turn of events for the electorate. It also says a lot about the changing demographics in the district.
Somerville and Medford, the bulk of the district, have long been considered blue-collar lunch bucket Reagan Democrat towns. While they are still ruled by some politicians who have the "thug mentality," they have now become more liberal, artistic, and yeah, progressive. This doesn't mean that they are better; just changing. They've historically elected conservative Democrats with good voting records on labor issues. Today, with working folks moving out and yuppies, artists, and intellectuals moving in, the cities are slightly altered from what they once were.
Either way - whether labor or artist - Casey just didn't fit in. His lshakyecord was shakey at best, often voting against the interests of working folks in his district. He has consistently been bankrolled by the worst of the worst of Massachusetts' politically-connected, including some of the state's most powerful lobbyists and political action committees. The cocktail doesn't go for that grubby, grab all the money greed stuff.
Down the wire, folks were telling me that the race was between Jehlen and former state Rep. Joe Mackey. It was a duel of Somerville's power structure - with Jehlen getting the support of the reform-minded and the progressives; and Mackey getting the support of former Mayor Dot Gay and Charlie's wife Dorothy.
Casey was probably the most conservative candidate in the race and that wouldn't be such a bad thing if you stood for something. But he was also out of touch about the needs of the district, and had a condescending way of talking down to people with an "Aw shucks" attitude and smile on his face. In defending himself against criticism that he was too conservative on issues like universal health care, Casey told the Shitty Times Chronicle that "Health care programs are a great idea and it is great to have big goals, but to get there we must go piece by piece." Piece by piece and he hasn't done a thing about it. The true sign of a trust fund baby. Tell that to the folks without health insurance never mind actual care, Paul.
But enough beating up on poor Paul. The night is about Grandmother Pat - a worthy successor to fill Charlie's shoes. The district is in safe hands.

Whoa ...
The devastation in Katrina's wake is just shocking. Mother Nature just loves to throw the human race the curve ball. God bless the souls which were lost and hope for the best for these people as they rebuild their cities and their lives.

Buchanan: Impeach Bush
It is this kinda stuff, along with his thorough and excellent analysis on trade policy, that keeps a warm space in my heart for Pat Buchanan. His mix of radical commonsense and sarcasm has made his material worth reading for quite a long time, no matter what you think of personally. He asks, why no one makes a move to change the reprehensible state of immigration in our country: ["A national emergency"]

What are these Bush Republicans afraid of? Dirty looks from the help at the country club?

Hilarious. Absolutely hilarious.

Is the FBI reexamining Oklahoma City bombing case?

In a recent WND article, it was revealed that the FBI is starting to take a second look at the Oklahoma City Bombing case: ["FBI must turn over investigation docs"]. This section of the article below says it all:

After declining to comment on the civil matters involved in the Trentadue suit, Johnson said the FBI was currently investigating the April 19, 1995, bombing. In the past, Johnson has told the media that the FBI was standing by its original investigation. "It was the most experienced and thorough in our history," he said.
The $85 million effort yielded only two federal convictions, Terry Nichols and Timothy McVeigh. Mike Fortier provided testimony against McVeigh and Nichols in return for a reduced sentence. Asked how many FBI agents were involved in the renewed effort, Johnson simply commented: "We don't ever disclose that type of information." Exactly when this investigation was opened and why remains unclear.

Interestingly, a Google search of this information reveals almost nothing in the mainstream press. The FBI is taking another look at the second most horrific act of terrorism on American soil and no one in the press says a word? Yikes.

Is the military targeting journalists?
The issue of journalists killed in the line of duty in Iraq has been a touchy one. Some on the left have accused the military of targeting journalists in Iraq; some on the right call those accusations outrageous and have worked to drive people who have made such comments out of their jobs.
So much for free speech.
I don't know if the military is purposely targeting journalists or not. But I worry about this because I am a journalist. I also do know that it seems that a lot of them are getting killed. And they are getting killed even when the military knows where these journalists are located.
Here is the latest round of journalists who were killed in the line of duty by our military: ["US sniper kills Reuters soundman in Iraq"].

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said early August that at least 52 journalists have been killed in Iraq since the US-led invasion to topple Saddam began in March 2003. Another 21 media support staff such as drivers, translators, and security guards have also been killed in the line of duty.

It should also be noted that Reuters staff has been under fire in the country, probably for their coverage of the occupation of Iraq: ["Media Bias in Iraq"].
No one is really safe in a war zone. The Red Cross isn't safe; medical personnel aren't safe; why should journalists expect to be safe? However, there should be some amount of safety for people doing their jobs and reporting the news. And you would think that American soldiers would know the difference between a guy with a camera and a guy with a grenade launcher ... unless you don't want the guy with the camera taking pictures for some reason.

Now she tells us?
I've been really busy working and enjoying my family so I haven't had much time to blog of late. And I guess, in some ways, that is a pretty good thing because I am really furious about what is going on in Iraq. Not so much that these folks decided that their government should be an Islamic one. Or that American women are dying so that Iraqi women will get few rights. Or that those who don't want to follow the new constitution can bring their complaints to clerics and if the clerics deem the complaints legit, they can throw out the constitution. That seems about as smart as having Pat Robertson given the authority over who should be assasinated and who shouldn't. But this just doesn't seem to be going as well as it should be. One commentator on "Meet the Press" last week hilariously noted that it was okay that women wouldn't be given rights right away because it took America a century to give women rights. Eh, I thought we were supposed to be evolving and using America of the present as an example, not America of the past.
Well, here is another person who doesn't think things are quite going so good either ... and she is a Bush supporter: ["Iraqi activist taken up by Bush recants her views"].

When we came back from exile, we thought we were going to improve rights and the position of women. But look what has happened: we have lost all the gains we made over the past 30 years. It's a big disappointment. Human rights should not be linked to Islamic sharia law at all. They should be listed separately in the constitution.

Ouch. She makes a good point in noting that the past 30 years are basically being hit. Yes, Saddam was horrible. Yes, he was a dictator who killed people. But you know what? There was a middle class in Iraq before the first Gulf War - until U.S. Ambassador April Glaspie met with Hussein in July 1990 and basically gave him the green light by saying, "We have no opinion on your Arab - Arab conflicts, such as your dispute with Kuwait," and Hussein invaded and started that first stupid war. The perception that the people of Iraq didn't have it pretty good in the past under Hussein is a false one. Was it ideal? No. Is it ideal now? No. Will it be an ideal democracy after all is said and done? Probably not. It makes all this death and destruction even more difficult to watch.

Don't moms always drive us nuts?
Even the president has a mom problem now ... and it just won't go away! Check this out: ["Bush's Obscene Tirades Rattle White House Aides"].

“I’m not meeting again with that goddamned bitch,” Bush screamed at aides who suggested he meet again with Cindy Sheehan, the war-protesting mother whose son died in Iraq. “She can go to hell as far as I’m concerned!”

Instead, Bush will go to Idaho ["My Private Idaho"], where Philip Zeikow is holding a seminar and he will again brief him on how he didn't know a thing about Usama bin Ladin wanting to fly jets into buildings a month before it actually occurred. Nope, didn't see the papers, didn't happen ...

Is it time for the beautiful boys to go?
Gov. Mitt "Guy Smiley" Romney, a potential candidate for the presidency in 2008, got nailed by the Boston Herald yesterday with this: ["Mitt backs war, but his boys are safe at home"].

"No, I have not urged my own children to enlist.I don't know the status of my childrens' potentially enlisting in the Guard and Reserve," Romney said, his voice tinged with anger.

No, his boys are busy jet skiing on Lake Winnipesaukee and building mansions in Belmont, Mass. next to daddy's mansion. All that war stuff is for the little people dontcha know. But they'll supposedly "support the troops" and keeping pumping gas into their SUVs!
Interestingly, Ross "Rocky" Anderson, the Mayor of Salt Like City, who endorsed Romney in 2002 in his run against Jill Stein and others, is against the war and is quite loud about it: ["Salt Lake Mayor's Anti-War Stance Reverberates Beyond Conservative Utah"].

Short takes:
The Cars to reunite? Maybe, with Todd Rundgren on lead vocals: ["Revving Up The Cars"]. It is bad enough that the awful Ben Orr is dead and buried. If Ric Ocasek isn't on board, it isn't a reunion worth checking out.
Go out and buy a Leonard Cohen CD right now!: ["Leonard Cohen sues over alleged $5M fraud"].

Noise Chart: September 2005
Stations reporting: WAAF, WBCN, WFNX, WMBR, WMFO, WTCC and WZBC

1) Dropkick Murphys – The Warrior’s Code
2) Freezepop – maxi ultra fresh
3) Frank Black – Honeycomb
4) Bourbon Princess – Dark of Days
5) The Perniece Brothers – Discover a Lovelier You
6) Ad Frank – … Is the World’s Best Ex-Boyfriend
7) Auto Interiors – Let’s Agree to Deceive Our Best Friends
8) Lovewhip – Virtual Booty Machine
9) Tracy Bonham – Blink the Brightest
10) The Rudds – Get the Femuline Hang On
11) The Stairs – On Sleep Lab
12) UV Protection – Consumer Material
13) Polyethylene – Paper or Plastic
14) Various – S/T
15) Apollo Sunshine – Apollo Sunshine
16) Ashby – Power Ballads
17) Slim Jim & the Mad Cows – Homebrewed
18) Mary Timony – Ex Hex
19) Willie “Loco” Alexander – The Dog Bar Yacht Club
20) Bill – BAT MAN
21) Big Digits – Big Digits
22) Cyanide Valentine – Let It Rot
23) Peter Dayton – Peter Dayton
24) The Downbeat 5 – Victory Motel
25) Andrea Gillis – Andrea Gillis
26) Major Stars – 4
27) Oblique – One Must Begin With One
28) Texas Torso – 275,000:1
29) The Texas Governor – The Experiment
30) The Cautions – Proceed with the Cautions

Cindy Sheehan: American Heroine
There is nothing worse than dealing with a death in the family. And we, as Americans, feel for all the families who have lost loved ones in our "war on terrorism," Afghanistan, or the invasion of Iraq, depending on how you look at the issue. It is even more heartbreaking because while we understand that the action in Afghanistan may have some legitimacy, the invasion of Iraq did not. It was completely unnecessary.
Which makes it all the more painful to watch ordinary American Cindy Sheehan camped out outside the president's ranch in Crawford, Texas, holding her own personal vigil and gaining support from millions of Americans. Sheehan lost her son Casey in the Iraqi invasion and is now ripping mad [and sad] about the death of her son. She met with Bush about 15 months ago. At the time, Sheehan reportedly said while she wasn't supportive of the invasion, she understood why her son went. Now, with the Downing Street Memo revelations and bodies starting to pile up, she wants another meeting. Bush has not surprisingly refused; he is probably thinking since he already met with her once, he doesn't owe her another meeting. Conservative talk show hosts have been asking proponents of the invasion to go down to Crawford themselves and some have been insolent and obnoxious in their behavior towards Sheehan and her friends.
So, she has been speaking, holding rallies, running TV ads [Raw Story], and is just plain not giving up. It is impressive to see and, frankly, surprising to see, considering how bad the media is these days. But since it is a slow news month, and reporters are trapped at the president's "working vacation," it isn't that surprising. Nothing goes on during those four to five weeks of August when the president hangs out at his ranch ... and you can include in that the lack of action in August 2001 when Bush was warned via memo that Usama Bin Ladin was planning terrorist attacks on the United States using airliners.
But I digress. Cindy Sheehan is an American Heroine. It takes a lot of guts and integrity to camp out outside the president's home these days to protest the invasion and occupation of Iraq and wonder why your son died for such a "noble cause." With all these new laws that have been passed, I'm a bit shocked they haven't "disappeared" her yet. As well, I'm surprised more anti-war protesters didn't think of this before. I have a bad feeling that this is going to build and build and build and build and build ...

A guilty pleasure
Okay, I admit it: I'm totally wrapped up in this "Rock Star: INXS" show.
Yeah, I know, I wrote some bad things about the show in the past. But, since its airing, I have been watching it almost every night.
First, some history. Australian rock band INXS lose their singer to a kinky sexual suicide. Rumors are that Terrence Trent D'Arby, a friend of the lost singer, Michael Hutchence, will replace him. D'Arby does - for one show only - and remains in oblivion.
A few years later, INXS tour with an unknown singer and play small clubs around the country [The "Just for Kicks" tour]. The tour apparently went okay, although they decide to ditch the singer [who was that guy?] and lay low for awhile.
Then, they decide to go the way of the reality show which could've been potentially embarrassing ... and humiliating.
However, it hasn't been.
The theme is this: A slew of singers show up at auditions across the country [the Boston one was held at Cambridge's Middle East Downstairs] and then the final 15 hang out in a mansion, practice covers and INXS songs with a killer house band, and then are judged by the public on their performances.
On Monday you see behind the scenes from the mansion. On Tuesday, the singers play their chosen covers for the night. The public votes on the performances. And then, on the last night of the week, Wednesday, the bottom three vote getters get a chance to perform an INXS song, often with band members, and then the band decides to eliminate - or keep - those singers they think can fit in.
The song selection can vary from classic rock, to post punk, to obscure current single or 1970s soul. And the INXS songs are often their hits ... although last week the band threw Brandon the obscure "Don't Lose Your Head," from the amazing "Elegantly Wasted" album [one I love playing loud in my car during commutes] and he completely effed up the lyrics. It seemed as though the band was expecting that which is why they gave him a hard one. I didn't like his vibe very much anyway. It would be a better fit for the Black Crows.
Despite the emphasis on "rock star," it has been a pretty interesting show. Most of the singers came to this from different perspectives. Some were from off-Broadway, others from struggling rock bands. One guy was living in his car.
Many of the singers were pretty easy to peg: There is the black guy with the Mohawk who sings like he is in Living Colour; there are the women who sing just like Janis Joplin or Grace Slick. There is the Stonesy southern rocker and the post-punk Nirvana dude. There are a lot of folks wailing notes with their voice when they should be trying to sing for the song. One of the great things about Hutchence was the fact that while he had charisma, he also sang for the song. Since he co-wrote most of them, that wasn't hard to do. But, this band doesn't need a Celine Dion rocker.
There have been some pretty interesting performances. Last week, for example, Suzie, this blonde from Toronto who ends up in the bottom three almost every week, played an amazing version of "Losing My Religion." Shockingly, the public voted her again in the bottom three. The band has consistently told her to stay put, which shows that they like something about her to keep her in the competition. Marty did a great acoustic version of The Killer's "Mr. Brightside."
But at the same time, it is clear that some of these singers are actually going to make it to the final. So many of them just didn't fit in with what we would perceive to be a new INXS. I can tell you as a fan of the band that there aren't many who I think will fit in. Personally, I like Suzie, although I don't think she will be in the final. I like another woman too who has these very long dreadlocks, Jordis, but she seems a bit too soul for the band. I also like Marty, this kinda Kurt Cobain wannabe. But, I think the guy who will end up being picked is the guy who was living in his car: J.D. Fortune. In the end, he seems to be the best fit. We'll see what happens.
Yeah, it is a bit silly, but this show is fun. And, I finally found a "reality" show that I can enjoy.
The band members even have a blog here: ["Rock Star: INXS blog"]. Bassist Garry Beers entered this into a recent post:

Last Friday night, I headed down to the House Of Blues where Dave Navarro's band, Camp Freddy, were playing. The band is incredible and included guys from The Cult, Steve Jones from the Pistols, Slash and members of Cypress Hill. Jordis even jumped up and sang a Clash song which she rocked!

Very interesting. It is good to see that Steve Jones is still playing. That's right!

New Hampshire, 2008
While there has been some polling of the 2008 campaign, ARG released some of the first New Hampshire primary numbers for 2008 last week here: ["McCain Leads Among Republicans in New Hampshire"]. So it is McCain, Gingrich and Romney.
First, let's take Sen. John McCain. This is no surprise ... but 39 percent so early? Wowie zowie. Plus, he gets 37 percent of registered Republicans and 45 percent of undeclareds [or what New Hampshire calls independents]. What makes this so impressive is that the standard logic in 2004 was that the bulk of McCain's support was from undeclareds. Those on the ground know that this wasn't entirely true; while McCain had a lot of support from indies, he also had a lot of support from rank-and-file Republicans. These high numbers mean nothing more than name recognition at this point and with 32 percent "undecided," it is still anyone's game. But it is still impressive. McCain is still wishy-washy about running. He hasn't been to the state in a while but most think he will run.
However, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at 14 percent? This is a surprise. The Newster wants to run. He is telling everyone he wants to run. And why not? If you have a bunch of rich friends to give you millions, you are basically on a two-year holiday talking politics and staying in fancy hotels. Who wouldn't want to do that? Gingrich has only been to the state once, on a three-day swing through the state to pimp his most recent book. He hasn't been here since and there isn't much out there about him considering a run. The flip side to Gingrich's high early numbers is the fact that he really hasn't run in a competitive race in almost three decades and his arrogance will be eaten alive up here in the hustings of New Hampshire [as well as Iowa, and it looks like both will hold their first votes]. Plus, as I posted on MyDD earlier this week: ["Interestingly ..."], there is still bad blood from when he and Clinton went through that whole government shut down/playing chicken thing back in the mid-1990s. Despite the perception that Republicans are "anti-big government," a lot of Republicans have family members who rely on assistance, whether it is VA benefits, heating subsidies, or whatever. It backfired on Republicans here when Gingrich went on that tear and they almost lost seats in the election cycle following the shut down. Gingrich won't be the nominee ... but he'll have a lot of fun with his campaign expense account.
Now, to Gov. Willard Mitt Romney [he doesn't go by Willard anymore just "W." but I don't really know why]. Oh boy. "Guy Smiley" himself. No one should be surprised by his third place placing even if it is only 8 percent. He is south of the border. We watch Boston TV news up here. He lives in Wolfeboro during the summer, in a palatial Winnipesaukee lakefront home protected by Mass. staties. Why wouldn't he be in third? But what has he really done as governor in Massachusetts and what does he plan to do as president? No one really knows. Maybe that is why he is in third, too. Keep smiling Willard, keep smiling.
Other numbers? Well, they are nothing to write home about: Majority Bill Frist at 5 percent, and Sen. George Allen and Rep. Tom Tancredo at 1 percent, all three of which have made trips. Allen, as I posted recently, didn't make such a good impression; The Weirs Times had a write-up on Tancredo's swing through the Lakes Region, his third trip to the state. He is good and harsh on the illegal immigration stuff but some have said he comes across as a bit extreme. Sen. Sam Brownback and Sen. Chuck Hagel got goose-eggs, despite trips to New Hampshire and good media coverage: ["Campaign 2008"]. And is Gov. Mike Huckabee even running? What about VP Dick Cheney? I heard some things ...

Other stuff
The future cries of boys and girls everywhere: "Hey Mom, can I have $100 million so I can go to the moon?" ["Private Company Plans $100 Million Tour Around the Moon"].
The Freeway Bloggers get some great press: ["American Graffiti: Signs of the times "].
Oh no Flo!: One of the best radio news "gals" in the business breaks a huge story, it gets squashed, and she, well, gets pissy: ["WBZ doesn't go with Flo on story"].
Sean Gonsalves: When I was on vaca recently, I wrote about how much I like Gonsalves' columns in the Cape Cod Times, which are often posted on Common Dreams. Well, here is another good one: ["It's not Weak to Ask 'Why?'"].

Catching up
While I love my computer and the ability to check out almost any newspaper in the world from my couch, sometimes, my favorites bin gets overrun. This morning, I realized that I still hadn't posted some stories I meant to. So, here is another post about clearing out my favorites bin.

Here is one hilarious story: ["Man: Flesh-eating aliens were chasing me when I caused fatal car crash"].

In three court-ordered evaluations, the defendant stated he was fleeing subterranean beings he called "hemadrones" when he carjacked a commercial vehicle near a Nevada City, Calif., gas station and then crashed into Reynolds' service vehicle. ...

The evidentiary burden will fall on the defense to prove that Krause, a known methamphetamine addict with a history of drug-related arrests, was suffering from a pre-existing mental condition that either prevented him from understanding the consequences of his actions or knowing the difference between right or wrong.

Or, maybe he really was running from flesh-eating aliens! Who actually knows?

Recently, I was in Las Vegas for a radio conference. I didn't watch any television while I was there ... but I probably should have. Check out this report: ["Area 51 Declassified"].

My buddy Ralph Lopez has a new book: ["The Elephant in the Room; A Combat Manual for Democrats"]. I love P.O.D. It is so cool that Ralph and others like him can put out their own books without having to get approval by a big publishing firm.

I've linked this on the side but I forgot to mention that Mark Jurkowitz has taken over Media Log for Dan Kennedy. The site is a bit different but still high quality. You can check out the new Media Log here: ["Media Log"].

Speaking of former President Carter, I was watching a television special on energy on PBS and they sent viewers to their site to look at what past officials had done to try and make the United States energy efficient. Here is one of Carter's speeches from 1977: ["Primary Sources: The President's Proposed Energy Policy "]

Our consumption of oil would keep going up every year. Our cars would continue to be too large and inefficient. Three-quarters of them would continue to carry only one person -- the driver -- while our public transportation system continues to decline. We can delay insulating our houses, and they will continue to lose about 50 percent of their heat in waste.

It is worth a read because of how bold it is. It is worth a second read for how visionary it is. For all that was bad about the Carter Administration - and there were some bad things; if he could have gotten some of these things approved, he would be a political saint right now. While I was only 11 at the time, I remember these days like they were yesterday. I remember when gas went from 30 cents to 60 cents and the world turned upside down. I remember my dad being out of work seasonally and trying to find construction work. In some ways, it isn't as harsh a life right now; in other ways, it is. And, in many other ways, it could become harsher again.

A quick Sunday night post
Here are a few things that caught my eye this week.
First, there is a quick bit in the Washington Post about the Dems messing with the primary: ["GOP Says It Will 'Bury' Name-Calling Candidate"].

But there appears to be more interest in plans that call for keeping Iowa as the site of the first caucuses and New Hampshire as the host of the first primary, but that would insert a few other caucus contests between the two.

In the past, I would have said that it was good for the Dems to think about organized labor when looking at the primary schedule but I would have also said to not worry about the minority issue.
Now, I'm wondering if it is important to worry about either, as far as primaries go.
Many in the labor movement don't always back the candidates who have backed them, as we saw in 2004, when Kucinich and to a lesser extent, Gephardt, true champions of labor, weren't given the support they should have received [Gephardt did receive labor support just not enough to get him past Iowa, which is pretty sad. As I have said before, Gephardt would have beaten Bush in the general]. We have seen labor also cave to Democrats who haven't had the best record on labor and get almost nothing in return. Look at the unions that backed John Kerry in 2004 and look at his abysmal record on the issues of working people.
The minority question is a different matter. Since the bulk of minorities live in major metropolitan areas, the minute you move the primaries to the metropolitan areas, you change the whole dynamic, especially as it comes to money. But what if you moved a caucus into a more populated state instead of a primary? Sure, money would still be needed but more of it would go into organizing and not into ads. A candidate would need money to get people to the caucuses to hang around during that process. This might be an option. Early primaries in large populated states mean big money for the candidate to come up with. It would be a disaster and in the end, wouldn't elevate the needs of minorities one bit. More on this at a later time.
Here is some discussion about the issue over at MyDD: ["Caucus Compromise"].

Three years away, but not that far off: ["In N.H., 2008 isn’t that far off for candidates"].

Next week, a group that wants Hillary Rodham Clinton to run for president plans to spend three days in New Hampshire and start running a television ad. The cartoon ad shows her loading barrels of “Bush’s mess” onto a garbage truck and cleaning it up.

Ugh. I can't believe people think that Hillary is going to fix the nation. She'll never get anything done with a Republican-controlled Congress - unless she does things the way her husband did things when Newt and the others took Congress over in 1994.

Then there is this from the UL about Mitt Romney lining up support: ["Granite Status: Democrats confirm Bass will be targeted in 2006"].

This is also pretty huge: ["Dramatic New Charges Deepen Link Between Ohio's "Coingate," Voinovich Mob Connections, and the Theft of the 2004 Election"]. I don't know if all this "theft" stuff is legitimate. Rigging? Sure. But theft? I don't know. Everyone has been rigging elections for years. It shouldn't surprise anyone at this point.

The record business ... in turmoil: This action against Sony BMG didn't get much play in the press but it is very interesting: ["Biz left to sing the blues"]:

Emails from promotion execs up to the executive VP level spelled out the costs for added spins -- a Jennifer Lopez single required $3,600 in payments to bump it just 63 spins in one week -- as well as flights to Las Vegas for radio execs to see Celine Dion perform.

Wow, that is a lot of money to spend on one song. Why can't radio execs just let stations put together their own playlists? Here is a previous article: ["Spitzer Evidence To Be Handed Over To FCC "].

Carter on Gitmo: ["Carter: Guantanamo Detentions Disgraceful"]. I've always liked President Carter but I am wondering about him of late. His comments here are great; but the more I read about some of the things which went on in his administration, the more I lose respect for him. I guess he is trying to make up for past sins in the present tense.

Very cool science stuff: ["Large New World Discovered Beyond Neptune"].

A sad note to report: ["ManRay closes"].

Since word got out about the club’s shuttering, Gleason says ManRay has been inundated with old regulars who wanted to see the place one last time. "A lot of married couples met in my club," explains Gleason, "so we’ve had a people come out of the woodwork and ask if they could take photos in the corners where they met. It’s amazing."

I used to love going to that place. And yeah, I met my wife there too.

The union bust up
I don't know what to think of this: ["Largest Union Decides to Bolt AFL-CIO"]. On the one hand, the AFL-CIO has made some huge mistakes over the years. I won't even go into how pissed off I was when Lane Kirkland was helping Bill Clinton get NAFTA passed.
But at the same time, the people who are breaking away are the same folks who abandoned Howard Dean in 2004 when it looked like his ship was sinking - instead of sticking with the candidate you endorsed until the very end. What kind of loyalty is that?
They also don't seem to be thinking about the big picture. It isn't about getting national health care - it is about getting decent wages first and job security. Health care should be second.
We all know what some of the problems are with the union movement and the lack of union jobs. But at the same time, some unions have been their own worst enemy by the decisions they have made, the candidates they have backed, and the things they have refused to do. Having worked with a number of union folks over the years, I know about their problems and I have experienced their arrogance first hand. Here's hoping they can work things out. After all, as the bumpersticker says, these are the folks who brought you the weekend.

The latest gossip
Novak has an interesting piece this weekend. He notes that "New York liberals" are worried about Hilary Clinton not being able to win in 2008 and are looking to Richardson. He also notes that when Virginia Gov. George Allen was in New Hampshire recently, activists called his performance, "odd": ["Supreme runner-up"].

9/11
Danny Schechter, who has some interesting thoughts and theories, has a new piece on Common Dreams about the 911 Truth Movement: ["Conspiracy Theories and the Fight for Truth"]. Since I am halfway through the very novelesque "9/11 Commission Report," I wonder about some of his points:

Some see a conspiracy behind the 9/11 Commission's conspiracy finding, noting that that body was never really independent, It was instead controlled by staff director Phillip Zelikow, a Republican intelligence professional, who had previously worked and co-authored a book with Condoleezza Rice. It was also peopled by Commissioners and staffers with clear conflicts because of their links to policymakers, the defense industry and oil interests. That included Chairman Kean who was, bizarrely enough, tied into a Saudi Arabian oil enterprise run by two Bin Laden relatives. He sold his shares two weeks before he began chairing the Commission. None of that seem to matter at the time because the news coverage was rarely analytical. The Commission's findings were embraced by most of the mainstream media even as the press proved to be out of step with the public. Several public opinion surveys found that as many as half of the people questioned believed the government either wasn't telling the whole story, or had foreknowledge and didn't act, or, worse, had something do with it.

Isn't that amazing? I don't recall ever hearing about this on television or the radio. A lot of this makes you wonder.
Also, I did a google news search of "Jersey Girls" and all I found was a press release for the Friday event on a New Zealand Web site. When I did a google news search on one of the Jersey Girl's name, Lorie Van Auken, I got a press release from the U.S. Newswire, and a couple of older articles: ["Civil libertarians rally to 'fix' Patriot Act"] and "Families press CIA to release Sept. 11 report," of which the link is dead. However, there is no news on google news about the hearing.
When a search was done on "Mindy Kleinberg," two stories came up: ["Mindy Kleinberg's 9-11 Commission Testimony"] and ["9/11 report brought intelligence reforms"], which wasn't about Friday's hearing. Very interesting.