March 30, 2007
I Have a Really, Really Good Idea!
A few days ago, I watched our zany TV Princess, Rosie O’Donnell take a few moments of national television time to express her passion for recognizing and understanding the validity of Iran’s position regarding current world events. You know; things like wanting all Israeli’s dead and that the Holocaust didn’t happen, and that progressive notion that Iran should have nuclear weapons, and that the British soldiers deserved being kidnapped because Iran is so misunderstood and stuff like that.
Well, with the recently released photo of one of their British prisoners (who, by the way, the Iranians kidnapped while on one of those harmless, misunderstood Iranian boat adventures in the Straits of Hormuz), came my startling realization: these people have no ability to craft good propaganda photos.
I mean, just look at that background. What were they thinking?
You know, if they’re ever going to impress infidels like us, they’re going to have to get somebody to art direct the whole mess. Colors… patterns… lighting… they need serious help!
So, here is my idea: Let’s encourage Rosie to go over and help out! They’ll love her there. After all, what self-respecting Muslim extremist can resist an outspoken feminist? And, a homosexual one to boot!
Rosie, lead by example and help out those poor, misunderstood Iranian dictator-type folks. I know that they’ll embrace your “difference” just as you admonished all of us to do during your recent on-air lecture on the now infuriating broadcast, "The View."
The Spine-Dissolving Power of a State Dept. Job
James Lileks made me laugh out loud today (again). He was mentioning how much Condoleeza Rice's tough foriegn policy cred has suffered since becoming Secretary of State. He writes: "...she sank up to her waist in Peace Process quicksand, and the only reason she hasn’t sunk to her neck is because she’s standing on the shoulders of those who have been swallowed whole before."
Then he writes:
"Then again, I’m starting to think that you could put Godzilla in charge of State, and in two months he’d be four feet tall, breathing perfume, and proposing a Tokyo-reconstruction loan program and a six-point program for getting Mothra to sit down with Gamara."
Read the whole Bleat.
Finally. . .
. . .a presidential candidate Christian conservatives can get behind.
March 22, 2007
Mr. Scaremongery Goes to Washington
Over at Hugh Hewitt's blog, Dean Barnett has posted a great piece inspired by Al Gore's testimony on Capitol Hill today. Here are two tasty nuggets from the long and thoughtful post:
"Has there ever been a man who so desperately hungered for greatness who was so thoroughly suffused with mediocrity?"
And:
"Today heralded the arrival of the trans-partisan Al Gore, a man for whom the presidency would be a step down since his current self-appointed job is that of Global Savior."
Read the whole thing.
March 21, 2007
Migrating Radio to Television
In a 200, 300, or as some say is coming, a 500-television-channel world--channels are hungry for programming with a capital HUN. So, it's not surprising to see some radio programs migrating to television.
The easiest migration is to stick a couple of cameras into the studio of a live radio broadcast (a la Don Imus or Howard Stern.) But James Lileks' blog today brought a fresh entry to my attention.
One of my favorite NPR radio programs is a Saturday show called "This American Life." Each week it is a series of well-crafted, well-told story/essays centered around a common theme. I have always considered it a great use of radio.
There is now, apparently, a television manifestion on Showtime (which I wouldn't know because I don't subscribe to any premium channels.) But watching this clip almost makes me want to get Showtime just to be able to watch "This American Life" (almost being the operative word).
March 20, 2007
Wrestling with Streaming Rights & Rules
I'll take a break from my role as wannabe political pundit and actually post something remotely related to what this blog is actually supposed to be about. . .
Ever since the advent of online streaming, broadcasters—radio and telvision—have wrestled with how to handle content rights and licensing issues. Music rights have been a particularly thorny gray area.
Well, the AP ran a story yesterday with the following lede-line:
"A wide array of broadcasters and online companies on Monday challenged a ruling from a panel of copyright judges that they say could cripple the emerging business of offering music broadcasts over the Internet."
The gist of the article is this: A recent court ruling stipulated that companies like Clear Channel Communications, Inc. whose many radio stations offer their programming content online must "track how many songs were listened to by exactly how many individuals online," then pay special digital royalties to record lables and performers.
This, the broadcasters say, is overly burdensome and it vexes them sorely. They have appealed the ruling. Watch this space.
March 19, 2007
Spring Break Report
Just returned from a 3 1/2 day trip to New York City with the wife and daughters. View image Given the demographic composition of the group—4 females, 1 male—much of our activity centered on shopping.
We did manage to get in a show—a brand new big-budget, elaborate-sets-and-costumes musical called Pirate Queen. (I may post a review later). And, because my standard quid pro quo for going along with all the shopping is that we have to do equal time in museums, we hit the Museum of Natural History and the Metropolitan Museum of Art for some cultural horizon-expansion.
Because we are big watchers of the TV Food Network, the highlight of the trip was probably dinner at Bobby Flay's newest restaurant, Bar Americain. We had heard that he is frequently present in their open kitchen and, sure enough, he was there when we walked in.
We had an absolutely incredible, if pricey, meal. At one point Flay came out from behind the kitchen counter and mingled among the tables, chatting with the customers. He didn't make it to our table and it's probably a good thing. My bride was determined to have him slide into our booth for a picture—a prospect that mortified my teenagers.
Took the girls up the Empire State building. Walked around Little Italy and had a great lunch in a sidewalk cafe. Went to Ground Zero and visited the memorial center. There I felt all the 9/11 emotions all over again. Sorrow, shock, and fury in equal measure.
As we walked away I thought about the quote attributed to the Japanese General Yamamoto after the attack on Pearl Harbor: "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve."
It occurred to me that if some "general" in Al Qaeda thought something similar after 9/11 he was laughably wrong. Our wakefulness and resolve lasted about six weeks.
We are not awake. We are not resolute.
John Stewart mocks the president while millions laugh and nod. Congressmen "support the troops" by undermining their morale and decrying their mission. The media make celebrities of liars like Joseph Wilson and Valerie Plame and make pariahs of men like Vice President Cheney who are doing the hard, thankless work of fighting for Western Civilization.
As we walked away from the hole in the ground where colossal buildings once stood I thought: "9/11 awakened not a sleeping giant, but a petulant child."
March 08, 2007
Your Not-So-Concise Guide to Global Warming Scaremongery
There are increasing signs that enlightened society is not prepared to tolerate skepticism or doubt on the issue of "global warming." Recently the Boston Globe's Ellen Goodman compared climate change doubters to "holocaust deniers."
Here's the problem--the "truth" about climate change, inconvenient or otherwise, isn't digital. Unlike, say...belief in Santa Claus, it isn't simply true or false; real or imagined; fact or fiction.
In reality, there are at least five distinct possibilities that could constitute the "truth" about global warming. The range of possibilities includes:
1. The earth is not warming. (This position is getting more difficult to hold credibly but there is still enough conflicting data to enable one to hold it without qualifying for membership in the flat earth society.)
2. The earth is warming but not because of human activity. (Fossilized tree rings and Greenland ice cores show clearly that the earth has been cyclically warming and cooling for manifold millennia—before the industrial age...even before the human age.)
3. The earth is warming, in part because of human activity, but no measures we can take will change that fact. (Some Greenpeace types would take us all back to the stone age if they could. And yet some good science suggests doing so wouldn't do jack to lower average temps over the next 50 or 100 years.)
4. The earth is warming, possibly due to human activity--and that's a good thing.
5. The earth is warming, primarily because of human activity, and if we take drastic action now, at great cost, temps can be moderated a little, which might or might not prevent the catastrophe's predicted by the alarmists. (A holder of this position can marshal lots of recent research, computer modeling and experts in support.)
6. The earth is warming, primarily because of human activity, and if we take drastic action now, at great cost, everything will be all right. But if we don't. . .well, rotting dead polar bears will soon be washing up on Oklahoma's new beachfront properties.
This is why questions like, "Do you believe global warming is real?" are idiotic. It is also why comments like Goodman's are so despicable.
Think about it. If you are a Type 2 or Type 3 believer, are you "on par with holocaust deniers" as Ellen Goodman suggests? After all, you believe the earth is getting warmer. You're just convinced that crippling the engine of the world's economy—the U.S.—won't do a bit of good for the environment and will do great harm to billions of people.
March 07, 2007
Your Super-Concise Guide to Understanding the Scooter Libby Case
It would take a flow chart the size of a football field to diagram the conflicting testimony and fuzzy relationships brought to us by the trial of Scooter Libby. But here is all you need to know. . .
The case involves a Big Leaker and a Big Liar. Mr. Libby, as the trial testimony revealed, is neither of these people.
Here is your Big Leaker.
Here is your Big Liar.
Yet these men are the toast of the town. Mr. Libby has been ruined. End of story.
Speaking of Reading...
Our good friend Stephen Mansfield, with whom it is our privilege to work on Derek Prince Legacy Radio, has a brand new book which is now available for pre-order on Amazon.
His Ten Tortured Words: How the Founding Fathers Tried to Protect Religion in America. . .And What's Happened Since, is about the First Amendment, (particularly the establishment clause guaranteeing freedom of religion) and the culture wars we've been fighting over its meaning.
I believe it will spark an important debate in this country. Go pre-order your copy now and be ahead of the curve.
March 06, 2007
What I'm Reading Now
And. . .
Given the time it took me to get through The Looming Tower (with all that I have going on) it may be a while before I'm posting my reviews.