Doomsday for Dow Jones?

From stories posted over the weekend, it looks like tomorrow is the day the Bancroft family makes a final decision about whether they will sell Dow Jones/WSJ to Rupert Murdoch. Here are some of the corresponding stories: ["Bid for Dow Jones opposed"] and ["Family at war over Murdoch's Dow bid"].
I find it interesting that the Bancroft family is worried about editorial control. I mean, have they read the WSJ editorial page recently? They are to the right of Attila the Hun. How bad could a Murdoch ownership be? I don't know, but it doesn't look like it is going to happen.

Link roundup: The end of July edition

Here is a bunch of stuff I haven't had a chance to post. It's hard to believe that it is the end of July already. So far, it has been a pretty good summer. But, it will all be over in six weeks. Enjoy it while you can.

The answer is more debates

Hillary Clinton and John Edwards were reportedly talking about limiting debate participants the other night in this exchange caught on camera and hot mics, I believe by C-SPAN, after a recent debate:

If they are frustrated because they aren't getting enough face time or need more than 60 seconds to answer a question, and who can blame them for that, that is understandable. But, the answer isn't fewer debates or fewer people in the debates. The answer is more debates.
I'm not surprised that Hillary would try and limit the voices in the debate. She calls her speeches "listening tours" even though she doesn't do a lot of listening during them. However, I'm a bit taken aback by Edwards' move. He never looks bad in these things and Gravel and Kucinich going after the frontrunners only really hurts Clinton and Barack Obama, IMHO.

Here is another YouTube clip worth looking at, with Edwards really taking it home:


FCC Hearings

The FCC has been traveling around the country, holding hearings concerning problems with broadcast media consolidation. C-SPAN has aired a couple of the hearings and they've been pretty interesting to watch. Recently, they held one in Portland, Maine, the only hearing in New England. Dan Kennedy has a bit about the hearing here: ["Local media and the FCC"]. And here is a letter from a resident complaining about hearing: ["FCC didn't hear me"]. So much for these hearings being about the public talking about consolidation. As much as I enjoy working in the broadcast industry and respect many of my colleagues, for them to do this just to protect their corporate masters is just intolerable.

9-11

Congress finally passed a terrorism bill including recommendations from The 9-11 Commission: ["Congress Passes Major Anti-Terror Bill"]. I don't know if this means anything considering both The Commission and its report seem like quite the whitewash, especially when you look at some of the outstanding questions. Interestingly, at my job, I constantly get emails from Lee Hamilton's PR firm, pitching columns. Since we only publish local stuff at work, I wouldn't consider them there. I hadn't thought about whether or not I wanted to publish them here on Politizine. I usually just give them a cursory glance and then delete them.

Speaking of 9-11, this French official thinks Bush was involved: ["French officials suggests Bush was behind September 11"]. This blog post caused a furor at the Post: ["Blog post that made the N.Y. Post"]. And here is a Web site with a slew of resources on it: ["9-11 Review"]. One of those resources is this interesting picture of a woman waving from the plane hole: ["Person waving from the plane shape hole"]. As noted, if this floor was burning so hot that it basically melted the infrastructure of the tower, how could a person stand at the hole and wave for help? Of course, it could be a cool video trick. But I really wonder about this.

Carbon taxes

Roy Morrison continues his work on alternative energy, including a long report on building a sustainable electric grid in New Hampshire: ["EcoPowerHedge"]. Readers may recall that I linked comments by Al Gore promoting Morrison's carbon tax idea. Well, now another person has taken hold of it: ["Counting on Failure, Energy Chairman Floats Carbon Tax"].

Short takes

Here is a long piece about microchips worth the time it takes to read: ["Microchip Implants Raise Privacy Concern"]. And then there is this: ["Microchips mulled for HIV carriers in Indonesia"].
By accident, I found this pretty cool horror movie site: ["Bloody Disgusting"].
Another 2008 candidate? Possibly: ["General Zod 2008"].
Rightwing newspaper says it's time to go: ["Scaife-Owned Newspaper Calls for Iraq Troop Withdrawal -- Questions Bush's 'Mental Stability'"].
Kerry dishes some out: ["Kerry to Mitt: Who's flip-flopping now?"].
AP Poll: ["GOP pick is 'none of the above'"].
This guy isn't too happy: ["The Audacity of Fraud: How Barack Obama Is Losing My Vote"]. It should be noted that Foreign Affairs is published by the Council on Foreign Relations, the same think tank that is coming very close to suggesting that the United States basically absorb Mexico and Canada and make the best of it: ["Building a North American Community"]. GOP candidate Rep. Duncan Hunter was able to get his amendment to keep federal funds from going to the NAFTA Super Highway down in Texas: ["Hunter NAFTA Super Highway Amendment Passes House"].
Kristin Gore: Dad's not running: ["Gore Daughter: '08 Run Not Happening"].

Morse gets new radio gig

Chuck Morse, the author, two-time failed congressional candidate [aren't we all?], and self-proclaimed "rightwing extremist," will have a new gig on WBIX 1060 outside of Boston starting in September: ["Morse Code starting September 1"].
With things shaking up in the radio world down there - specifically, Howie Carr jumping to mornings at WTKK and no talent lined up to take the afternoon shift at WRKO - this is a good opportunity for Morse to try and tap into the afternoon drive time AM audience down in Framingham. Morse was last heard doing mornings down on WARL 1320, a 5,000 watt AM station in Attleboro and has a long history of on-again, off-again radio shows.
One of the neat things about Chuck is that while he is bats on some issues, he is dead-on correct on many others. As well, as I've noticed over the years, he likes to debate people from the opposite side of the fence. Folks like Noam Chomsky and his nemesis, Rep. Barney Frank, actually get airtime on his shows and that is a lot more than they ever get on other radio stations. In addition, he often gives dark horses and long-shots the chance to be heard [Disclosure: When he was on 1510 in the late 1990s, I was on his show a couple of times].
Of course, Morse has his work cut out for him. WBIX doesn't even post in the Top 30 of 12-plus numbers in Boston, according to the Arbitron diary: ["Market 11"]. In fact, looking at these numbers, Manch's WGIR-FM and WZID-FM, WUNR-AM's foreign language stew [and other foreign language stations], and Cambridge's tiny beautiful music station, WJIB-AM, chart higher. WBIX does have a trade deal with the Boston Herald, according to gossip I've heard. They get an ad in the Herald and the Herald gets a news sponsorship before and after news updates.
In order to make this work, a lot more promotion is going to be needed for the station. Here's hoping he has a good long run with this one.

Join a March for Climate Action!
Guest Perspective/ReEnergize New Hampshire

Dear Friends,
Imagine this: thousands converging on New Hampshire's capitol, uniting to demand national action for a clean energy economy and real solutions to global warming.
Join us for the March to ReEnergize New Hampshire to help make this vision a reality:



Global warming is serious, and people are catching on. We read it in the newspaper and hear it on the radio. Now it's crept into the centerfold of Vanity Fair and it's printed on our yogurt lids. It's a hit in Hollywood and a focus of classrooms across the country. Yet despite the buzz, we haven't seen actions that match the scale of the problem.
But with all eyes on the Granite State this primary season, we have the opportunity to make sure something is done.
RSVP here to join us for an hour, a day, or for the whole march: http://www.climatesummer.org/march
We'll gather on July 31st in Greeley Park in Nashua, ready to kick off five days of walking to call for the scale of action our country needs. We'll stay at farms where the bounty has diminished over the warming years and churches whose congregations have found faith in our ability as a community to confront global warming.
We'll walk beside Bill McKibben, founder of Step It Up and a guiding voice in this movement. Granny D will be there, who - at the age of 89 - crossed the country afoot for a cause of her own. Now at 97, she's promised us that she'll be back on the road.
You, your family and friends are invited! RSVP and bring everyone you know: http://www.climatesummer.org/march
On the morning of Aug. 5, we'll gather with thousands as we walk the last mile into the center of Concord and rally on the State House lawn. En masse, we'll make the loudest call to our leaders yet: we want clean energy, green jobs, and a strong economy to cut our carbon emissions 80 percent by 2050.
We're writing this because we want you to be there too. We're just 25 college students who figured tight quarters and long hours was a cheap price to pay for our future.
So please, join us. Sign up to march for one day or all five. Prepare a meal or play a song. Make a few calls, and send this letter to everyone you know. Time is short, but together, we've got all the energy we need.
We look forward to seeing you there!

Sierra, Zo, Lindsey, Ian, Kelly, Maura & the whole ReEnergize NH Team reenergizenh@gmail.com. 610-220-5378

Hodes to endorse Obama
AP is reporting that Rep. Paul Hodes will endorse Sen. Barack Obama tomorrow morning: ["Obama Tries to Turn Clinton Words on Her"].
A note to the Obama campaign and others: People would really like more than 10 hours notice for an important event like your endorsement downtown. Sometimes, we can't completely alter our skeds around what you want to do. In the future, a good 24 to 48 notice would be really helpful. Thanks.

Did Hagel win Monday's Dem debate?

The Draft Hagel folks think so:

News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Winner of Monday Night’s Democratic Debate: Republican Senator Chuck Hagel

Boston, MA – At the first CNN/YouTube Democratic Presidential Debate held Monday, July 24, Democratic contender Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE) was asked by a questioner: “If you had to pick any Republican member of Congress or Republican governor to be your running mate, who would it be? Without hesitation, Mr. Biden said: Chuck Hagel. When asked the same question, Democratic contender John Edwards (D-NC) said Chuck Hagel as well. Senator Chuck Hagel’s name continues to be batted around Washington political circles as a possible Republican, Independent, and now Democratic candidate for the ’08 election.
In a political environment immersed in hyper-partisanship and ideological polarization, one where political gamesmanship has become the watchword of the day in Washington, Senator Chuck Hagel (R-Nebraska) has managed to transcend partisan lines and earn respect across the isle.
In his own party, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) calls Senator Hagel a “solid, thoughtful, conservative Republican” whose voice is invaluable to the nation, and who is “an indispensable member of the Republican team.” (Lincoln Star Journal, May 18, 2007, by Don Walton, “McConnell says Hagel's Iraq warnings were right”)
Hagel is expected to decide whether to pursue a presidential bid in the next few weeks. For the sake of unifying this nation with true leadership, the “www.drafthagel08.com” movement continues to ask Mr. Hagel to enter the presidential sweepstakes. We are confident that, as president, Hagel can forge a bipartisan consensus to tackle critically important issues which have been mired in partisanship. These issues include extricating the United States from Iraq, immigration reform, and returning fiscal sanity to our nation.
Hagel is an accomplished mainstream independent-minded conservative voice that emphasizes realist internationalism abroad and fiscal austerity at home in the spirit of former Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Gerald R. Ford, and former Secretaries of State James Baker and Colin Powell.
Senator Hagel, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, maintains that the only way to end the bloodshed in Iraq is through a political accommodation. A Vietnam Veteran, Senator Hagel has called our misadventure in Iraq “the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in this country since Vietnam.” To bring the political solution to fruition, Senator Hagel supports establishing an international mediator with the “backing and authority of the international community to engage Iraq’s political, religious, ethnic, and tribal leaders in an inclusive political process.” (Financial Times, July 3, 2007, by Chuck Hagel, “Internationalize Iraq”). Senator Hagel’s position on the Iraq War is in sharp contrast to the major Republican Primary candidates who continue to support the failed policies of the Bush Administration.
Senator Hagel has shown his fiscal conservative stripes by breaking with his Party and by opposing the fiscally irresponsible prescription-drug program under Medicare. In addition, Senator Hagel is a steadfast supporter of states rights, vehemently opposing the President’s federal “No Child Left Behind Act.” What’s more, Senator Hagel opposes the President’s call for a Constitutional amendment codifying marriage, emphatically stating: “I don't think the federal government has any business in dictating what constitutes a marriage.”
It is for these reasons that we consider Senator Chuck Hagel to be the best candidate to reclaim the leadership of the mainstream of this country. We believe Hagel’s message will strike a resonant chord across the “great political divide.” We would be glad to speak with you at-length about the “Draft Hagel 08” Movement. For more information, please contact us.

Rich Rubino, Press Spokesperson, 781-990-1477
rich.rubino@drafthagel08.com
www.drafthagel08.com
Draft HAGEL 08 is not authorized by or associated with any candidate, candidate's committee, PAC, or political party.

Dodd has another Talk Clock

Sen. Chris Dodd's Web site has another Talk Clock analyzing the amount of time given to the Democratic candidates.

Kudos to Sen. Dodd's campaign for posting another Talk Clock about who received the most time during tonight's debate. Interestingly, CNN Host Anderson Cooper got more face time than six of the candidates ... and double the time that Gravel and Kucinich received. Sigh.

Blogger targets Romney over sign

Channel 9 is reporting tonight that an Ohio blogger, spending some time in the state, attacked Mitt Romney over the weekend about him holding a sign calling Barack Obama "Obama Osama." Romney tells the kid to "lighten up a bit": ["Romney Feels Heat For 'Obama Osama' Sign"].

No debate commentary from me

I'm not going to offer any comment about tonight's CNN/YouTube debate because I didn't see the debate. However, here are some poll results on who people think won the debate.
With more than 18,800 voting on the Drudge Report, Obama received 41, Clinton, Biden 11, Kucinich 10, Richardson 8, Gravel 8, Edwards 5 and Dodd 5.
I thought I saw a poll on DailyKos earlier but I can't find it now.

Speaking of polls
DailyKos has a July Straw Poll with more than 14,000 people participating. Here are the results so far: Edwards 38 percent, Obama 26, Clinton 9, Other 8, Richardson 6, No Freakin' Clue 6, Kucinich 4, Gravel 1, Dodd 1, and Biden 1. Interestingly, Gravel has a bit more support than Biden or Dodd but doesn't have the coverage and doesn't get the donations that the other two receive.
The site also put together a favorable/unfavorable poll for the top four candidates. The numbers say a lot:

Edwards [14,045]
Favorable 79, Unfavorable 13, Undecided 7.

Obama [14,456]
Favorable 70, Unfavorable 11, Undecided 17.

Richardson [12,632 votes]
Favorable 51, Unfavorable 22, Undecided 26.

Clinton [14,077]
Favorable 38, Unfavorable 43, Undecided 17.

Oh, this is going to be trouble ...

Is this Romney's "Macaca" moment? Might be. Not only is it an insult to Obama but this lady can't even spell "Momma" right. Maybe she should go back to school.

Another press release ...

A few weeks ago, I wrote about some interesting press releases I received which I can't really publish because they don't have anything to do with the town I cover. Here is another one of those press releases which is worth a second look:

Trees for Children: Planting Forests for Life

New Cuyama, CA- Home and Business Owners Nationwide are Creating Forests that are Reducing Global Warming.

Trees for Children is replanting the trees used in the construction of homes and businesses as part of its education programs with youth and adults. Through hands-on restoration projects, they teach people how to take responsibility for the planet by creating and caretaking forests that sequester excess carbon that contributes to global warming.

Our buildings are the single largest carbon contributor to the global climate crisis yet this understanding often takes the backseat to people's perception that vehicles are to blame. People nationwide are taking steps to counter their contribution to the climate crisis by taking responsibility for the buildings they dwell within.

The average new home requires 13,837 board feet of lumber, according to the National Association of Home Builders, and that's more than 90 trees on average. Has your home or business been replanted? Trees for Children, a non-profit project, offers this unique and viable solution for people to take responsibility for the buildings that house their families and their livelihood.

Trees for Children has a unique tree planting program occurs year round and is a vital part of a forest restoration demonstration and research program. They use natural water harvest techniques, mixed species tree plantings, weather windows, and tree protecting strategies to help ensure healthy growth of the forests they plant. They help to create permanent and diverse forest systems that bind carbon, build soil, slow water and wind created erosion, produce oxygen, and provide important habitat for native flora and fauna. All of this in an effort to bring balance the climate both locally and globally.

If you would like to consider having your home or business replanted, and receive a certificate that shares, "My Home/Business Has Been Replanted" please visit the Trees for Children website at www.treesforchildren.org to join many others who are taking responsibility for the buildings they dwell within. Together with our children, we can combat global warming as we Plant Forests for Life...

The GOP: 'Grand Obstructionist Party'
Republicans Continue to Block Will of the People on Just About Everything

Guest Perspective/Ray Buckley

It is sad and shameful times as Republicans are dragging their feet, holding up the legislative process, and standing in the way of progress on the issues most important to the people of New Hampshire and across this great nation. Sens. Judd Gregg and John E. Sununu continue to put their loyalty to the President and their political party ahead of the interests of the Granite State and our brave men and women in uniform. It is not surprising that in the latest polls, 66 percent of independent voters say they will vote in the Democratic primary. This dramatic shift is because Independents in New Hampshire strongly oppose the Iraq War and are pleased at how Reps. Carol Shea-Porter and Paul Hodes are fighting to bring our troops home. The landslide re-election by Gov. John Lynch and historic victories by Democrats strongly indicates that Independents are realizing more and more which Party is fighting for them and which Party is more interested in standing in the way of progress. The UNH poll is a striking reminder of how the largest bloc of New Hampshire voters - Independents - continue to sway toward the Democrats during this decade. If Republicans stick to their obstructionist ways in Concord and Washington, we look forward to welcoming them into the Democratic Party, permanently.
In their first six months in office, Reps. Shea-Porter and Hodes have been keeping their promise to New Hampshire’s voters by working to change course in Iraq. Every step of the way, Republicans like Sununu, have shown that they lack the leadership and backbone to stand up to the President. Just one day after a new National Intelligence Estimate provided additional evidence that Republicans have failed to make our homeland safe and allowed Al Qaeda to rebuild, Sununu chose to protect George W. Bush and his disastrous Iraq policy by voting against an amendment that would have begun a rollback of U.S. forces within four months and redefined the U.S. mission in Iraq.
Earlier this week Gregg attacked New Hampshire’s Congressmen for being partisan and standing with the Democratic majority in their effort to win this war. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. Bush has fed the American public one war rationale after another and passive Republicans, like Sununu, have stood by and watched while one lousy policy failure after another has been recommended. It isn't good enough anymore to say, '’Well, I supported some other amendment that didn't have a timetable, that didn't bring the troops home.”
Sununu not only tows the Party line by supporting failed policies in Iraq, he is in lock-step with Republicans down in Washington on just about everything. Recently, Sununu voted against expanding stem cell research and the Employee Free Choice Act, which would protect workers' right to organize without fear of harassment or intimidation. Sununu has made it clear that he stands with the president, and not the people of New Hampshire.
I’m not the only one questioning Gregg and Sununu’s continued participation in the GOP “Grand Obstructionist Party.” The Portsmouth Herald ["Troop deadline is bit of sanity for Iraq war," July 19] called into question the logic behind their continued support for the current war policy - “‘logic, as best as we can reckon, that says if you think things are bad now, the Democrats' plan for major troop withdrawals will make things even worse. Instead of political posturing, Congress should focus on getting the policy right.’ Striving to get ‘the policy right’ is a remarkable admission well into the fifth year of war and occupation. Political posturing is a matter of perspective, but it's legitimate to ask what Sununu and Gregg - or Maine Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins - have been doing all this time to get the policy right.”
Republicans in Washington will be held accountable for their obstructionism when they face the voters in 2008. Sununu will be forced to make a decision whether he is going to answer New Hampshire’s call to end this war or if he will continue to protect Bush and blindly follow these failed Iraq policies. Every obstructionist step of the way John E. will continue to alienate Independents and prove to voters that the only way to responsibly bring this war to an end and begin to repair America’s reputation here and abroad is to elect Democrats in 2008.
Ray Buckley is the chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party.

Another strange and yet accurate PrioritiesNH.org vehicle

The upside down school bus above was parked outside Market Days earlier today.

Some of you may know about PrioritiesNH.org's campaign to raise awareness concerning the amount of American taxpayer money which is spent on the Pentagon. Around Concord, there is a Honda Element with a huge pie chart similar to the small one attached to this bus. The pie chart is probably about 15 feet wide and is wielded to the top of the Element.
Well, imagine my surprise this afternoon when I was checking out the annual Market Days festival and saw this bus parked right near the State House.
"What the heck is that?," I exclaimed before realizing it was a new vehicle by the group. It's actually pretty cool, beyond the fact that it makes a good point. It definitely turned this head.
Also seen at Market Days, tables for Rudy, Mitt, Hillary, and Edwards, both County Dems and GOP, a slew of political groups promoting one viewpoint or another, and people trying to draft Jeanne Shaheen to run for U.S. Senate.

Who is Dal LaMagna?

[Corrected, with editor's notes]
I don't know. He is some progressive from New York who is running for president who was just featured on the WMUR-TV Channel 9 11 p.m. News. But do a Google on the guy. No Web site for the campaign and very little information about the guy. Yet, he wants to be president? At least get a blog up, dude.
[Hey, dumbass blogger: If you typed my name correctly, you might have found my Web site here: http://lamagnaforpresident.com/]
It looks like he made his money inventing some special tweezers. He also donated some money to Robert Greenwald, the filmmaker responsible for that "documentary" about FoxNews, called "OutFoxed," which was riddled with serious flaws and inaccuracies.
[Interestingly, the Greenwald Web site, as well as others like Common Dreams and frontpagemag.com, spelled Dal's name incorrectly too!]
LaMagna is also a failed Congressional candidate. But hey, aren't we all? Hah! Abraham Lincoln once was, too! So, we're all in good company. LaMagna also supported "The War Tapes," the fabulous award-winning documentary about three New Hampshire national guardsmen.

Good luck to him. At least he got on the local evening television newscast.

One powerful commercial ... but what about the war?

Mitt Romney's new television ad, above, is a stroke of genius.
It's not about taxes. It's not about terrorism. It's not about infighting between the political parties. It's not about abortion. It's about the problems facing our children. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's new ad makes some good points about the cesspool some of our children are exposed to. Violent video games, offensive music, and pornography are not the best things for children to be involved with. Some may be involved with them, but it isn't a very good thing. This is kinda commonsense.
The ad may be Romney's "Morning in America" moment with rank-and-file Republicans. And it couldn't come at a better time for the guy. He's leading in New Hampshire. He's leading in Iowa. He's probably leading in Utah and Massachusetts. But outside of those states, there are problems. Elsewhere, Giuliani is still the frontrunner, with John McCain not far behind the two of them. The rest are way, way behind.
However, it is hard for one to take seriously any political ad which points to the violence our children are exposed to in film, music, and video games, while at the same time, ignoring the violence of the fraudulent Iraqi occupation. Hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis dead. Thousands of American servicemen and women. Dead.
Think about the ad's context for a minute. It is unacceptable for our children to blow things up on video screens but it's OK for them to blow things up on computer screens when they get a little older. It's OK to actually kill innocent people overseas but not to kill fake people in a game. It is unacceptable to listen to music which might help you relieve tension or forget the stresses of life but it is OK for you to release tension and take stresses out on others if you wear a military uniform.
What does that tell us? More importantly, what does that tell our children? What does that tell us about a presidential candidate who would combat the small things but ignore the huge ones ... or even worse, support the huge ones? It actually says a lot.