Mon. August 29, 2005
Java Man
According to an academic study released at a recent meeting of the American Chemical Society, coffee is really good for you. As PhysOrg.com described,
Well, that either means that Americans have no other real antioxidants (and lots of free radicals) or that coffee is hardly the evil toxin that the media have in most cases made it out to be. So drink up, America. At $6 a cup for a Starbucks-type double latte, at least you're putting something healthy into those stomachs of yours.
Wed. July 13, 2005
Pay the Man, Shirley
Even after his acquittal on child molestation charges, Michael Jackson gets no rest. Now he has been sued for $48 million by the financial firm that helped him refinance his debt to pay for Neverland and legal fees. No tickee, no washee, Jacko. Pay the man!
Tue. May 10, 2005
Liar Liar Pants on Fire
Michael Jackson's ranch manager conceded on Tuesday that he lied when he told police that the singer never slept with children. Jackson Defense Witness Admits Lying to Police [Reuters.com]. He also testified that Jackson had a collection of bondage dolls, after first denying that he had ever seen Jackson with "adult materials." And this was a defense witness! Reuters reported that:
"So, we're up to two?" a sarcastic [prosecutor Gordon] Auchincloss said, prompting an objection from defense lawyer Robert Sanger.
Marcus . . . appeared uncomfortable under cross-examination, often looking to Jackson before answering difficult questions.
Lawyers can't always control their own witnesses on cross-examination, but this is stupidity at its worst. Calling as a defense witness a person who lied to the police about the central witness in the case is really inexcusable. Of course, this may be all that Tom Meserau and his team have to work with. Not much.
Thu. April 28, 2005
Not Again
I gotta tell you, this is getting frustrating. Every time I find a new, pretty young actress to fantasize about, she goes off and hooks up with some buff hollywood hunk. I mean, first it's Jennifer Garner getting engaged to Ben Affleck, now it's Katie Holmes shagging Tom Cruise. Tom Cruise Dating Actress Katie Holmes [ABC News.com].
There they are in Rome, holding hands. Too cute. Well, if I were a woman, I definitely would not throw Tom out of my bed. But Katie, you really shouldn't piss on the dreams of all your secret admirers!
Wed. April 27, 2005
Poignant Luddites
Between them, both Tom Boswell and George Will sing poignant tunes about what they call the "timeless" rhythms of baseball. Read the two linked columns -- one about the new Washington Nationals, the other about 39-year old Atlanta Braves pitcher Greg Maddux -- and you'll see that these otherwise smart men are living in the past. As I've said before, these guys are "throwbacks to an idyllic agrarian American past that -- as anyone from the Midwest or the Great Plains knows -- never really existed in the first place."
George Calin was right! His hilarious comparison between baseball, our former national pastime, and football -- excerpted below -- "tells us something about ourselves and our values. And maybe how those values have changed over the last 150 years."
In football, the object is for the quarterback, otherwise known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his recievers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use the shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.
In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe. "I hope I'll be safe at home!"
Tue. April 19, 2005
Fooling the World
The Michael Jackson child abuse trial in California has been somewhat surreal from the beginning, but it's taken on a whole new aura of weirdness recently, The mother of the boy in question -- who starred in the infamous video documentary where Jacko protested how "normal" and "loving" it is to share one's bed with a child -- was called as a prosecution witness to corroborate her son's allegations. Tom Meserau, Jackon's long-haired (and very cool) defense attorney, came after her like a pit buill, trying to establish that the family had concocted the entire story to extort money from the music superstar. Accuser's Mom: Jackson "Managed to Fool the World" [NYDailyNews.com].
But the confrontation failed miserably. We can't see it on television, so here's the media summary, related to the claim that Jackson imprisoned the family at his Neverland Ranch:
Way to go, Tom! You violated the first rule of cross-examination by asking an open-ended question (one should ONLY ask leading questions on cross) and got burned, bad, as a result. Maybe that's because your client is a lying pervert.
Mon. April 11, 2005
Santo Subito
Even as a Jew, I deeply admired Pope John Paul II, feeling that his humanity, charisma and courage more than overshadowed his conservative (actually, reactionary) views on issues like opposing condoms for AIDS prevention. This is a man who helped topple Communism in his native Poland (born Karol Jozef Wojtyla and a priest there for decades) by suporting Lech Walesa and the Solidarity movement and helped the Roman Catholic Church, for the first time, apologize for its silent acquiesence during Hitler's Holocaust of World War II.
Now that he has passed away, an old, stooped and silent man, the cry in St. Peter's square is "sainthood now" (Santo Subito in Italian). John Paul II on Fast Track for Canonization? [Catholic World News]. Whether he's got enough living and posthumous "miracles" for beautification is questionable, as is the whole idea of religious miracles, but the man was indeed a saint. The conclave should make him one officially.
Mon. April 4, 2005
Not Again
Will this man never just LEAVE!! Please, spare us any more agony and, if you can't gracefully wither away, die. Gore TV Network to Launch in August, Google Tie-In.
Fri. April 1, 2005
Courage and Judicial Activitsm
This is Judge Stanley Birch's stirring separate opinion in the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit (Atlanta) to reject the appeal of Terry Schiavo's parents under the special statute Congress passed last Monday giving federal courts jurisdiction over that single case.
In resolving the Schiavo controversy it is my judgment that, despite sincere and altruistic motivation, the legislative and executive branches of our government have acted in a manner demonstrably at odds with our Founding Fathers’ blueprint for the governance of a free people -- our Constitution. Since I have sworn, as have they, to uphold and defend that Covenant, I must respectfully concur in the denial of the request for rehearing en banc. I conclude that Pub. L.109-3 (“the Act”) is unconstitutional and, therefore, this court and the district court are without jurisdiction in this case under that special Act and should refuse to exercise any jurisdiction that we may otherwise have in this case.
And if you think this comes from a liberal jurist, you're way wrong. Birch is from rural Georgia, was an Army lieutenant in Viet Nam from 1970-72 and was nominated to the federal bench by by George H.W. Bush on March 22, 1990. That's a conservative bio if I ever heard one. And as Ed Brayton from Dispatches from the Culture Wars cogently points out--
We need more judges like Stanley Birch, judges who have the courage to tell it like it is and not base decisions on political expediency.
Wed. March 30, 2005
Johnnie, We Hardly Knew 'Ye
Johnnie Cochran, O.J. Simpson's lead trial lawyer in the infamous L.A./Brentwood murder trial, died quietly last night of an inoperable brain tumor. Yes, he was gaudy, liked fancy suits, bling and publicity, and talked a lot (actually, an awful lot), but his closing statement in 1995 for O.J. was one of the best performances -- and by far the best televised closing argument -- by a trial lawyer ever. "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit." Wow! Listen for yourself.
Now O.J. is all alone in his quest to find the "real killers." It's so sad (NOT)! What's refreshing, however, is that -- despite his star-studded clientelle and amazingly high income -- Cochran always took on free legal cases for the disdvantaged, saying that his most rewarding efforts were in representing what he called the "No-J's." That's class and integrity, even if he did get a murderer off with flim-flam rhetoric and snake oil.
Thu. March 10, 2005
Pajamas In Court
I am away due to a death in the family, but even so had time to watch the riveting drama of this morning's fiaso in California when Michael Jackson failed to show up for court on the day his teenage accuser was due to testify to the sexual abuse perpetrated by the rock star. The presiding California state court judge revoked bail and issued a bench warrant for Jackson's arrest, but stayed it for 60 minutes (until 9:35 PST), during which MSNBC was live with an "arrest countdown clock." Jackson eventually arrived, 10 minutes after the deadline, wearing pajamas, slippers, a T-shirt and looking like he'd been drugged. As Dan Abrams latrer described:
The excuse was (once again) a medical one, this time that Jacko had back pain and went to the emergency room. As if someone who makes tens of millions of dollars a year doesn't have a personal physician to prescribe medication for back pain!! But unlike last time, when the judge told the jury Jackson was "really sick" with the flu, this time he just informed them that trial was delayed due to Jackson's medical condition and urged the jury not to infer Jackson's guilt from his behavior. A very clever -- and completely legally correct -- instruction, which the jury will and should promptly ignore. Because getting (or pretending to be) sick on the day a criminal defendant is to confront the main witness against him is too incriminating -- like fleeing a crime scene is evidence of consciousness of guilt -- to be ignored. Jacko is his own worst enemy. His own frail psyche is now the chief evidence that he is actually the pedophile Peter Pana wannabe the prosecution claims he has been for years.
Now the only really sad part is that, at the end of the day, the judge did not, as he had threatened and was fully empowered to do, put Jackson in the slammer for the duration of the trial. That may be a smart judicial move, in order to demonstrate no bias against the defendant, but it is not very satisfying. Put this wierdo in a cell for months and when he does take the stand, he'll crack like a nut in public!!
Fri. March 4, 2005
The Law Isn't the Answer
Everyone remembers being in high school and rebelling against authority, including the facists who run such institutions with their hall passes and dance chaperones. Apparently, today things are even more restrictive, including breathalyzer tests administered routinely during the school day. Sobriety Tests Are Becoming Part of the School Day [NYTimes.com].
What I find most interesting, however, is not that this stuff is occurring -- that's just an update of the battles waged between teenagers and teachers since James Dean in the 1950s -- but that communities are themselves rebelling against the exercise of such intrusive school authority. The courts routinely uphold almost all steps schools invoke against students, regardless of the privacy implications, on the ground that minors do not enjoy the same First Amendment rights as adults and that schools act in loco parentis (in the place of the parents). But as the Times reports, "such policies easily survive legal challenges, but often crumple under community opposition."
That's a good example of why the law is not always (indeed, rarely) the answer to social problems. It's also an illustration that even parents, of which I am now one, can sometimes live up to the ideal of "Do as I Do," not just "Do as I Say."
Star Morals
I'm sorry, this is even more evidence of Charlie Sheen's craziness and Hollywood's warped morality. Hollywood Star Sheen to Divorce [ITV.com]. First, you don't divorce a former-model wife who looks like Denise Richards. Second, you certainly don't walk away when your wife is six-months pregnant. If you make the babies, men, you have a responsibility to them and their mother, especially when the mother is a babe.
Thu. February 24, 2005
The Anti-Social iPod?
Andrew Sullivan (from the Daily Dish) has an op-ed in the Sunday Times of London, titled Society is Dead, We Have Retreated Into the iWorld. It's a rant against what he views as the anti-socializing effects of the iPod MP3 music player. Sullivan thinks that iPod owners "walk around the world like hermit crabs with our isolation surgically attached."
That's hardly the case. I would wager that more spontaneous conversations, and flirtations, have begun about iPods and what their owners are listening to than about anything since blotter acid in Haight-Ashbury in the 1960s. More to the point, the world is a great place when it has a soundtrack. It makes people smile, and smiles make for pleasant social interactions. If you ask me -- and Andrew hasn't, but I will tell him anyway -- it's the folks who are tethered to their wireless headsets and talk on cell phones while walking down the street who are really anti-social. A decade ago that behavior (mumbling to one's self in public) would have been regarded as delusional or schizophrenic. Maybe it still should be!
Tue. February 22, 2005
He's Really Sick
Michael Jackson "Really Was Sick" Judge Says [Reuters.com]. It's a good thing juries decide these cases, because Jacko's "flu-like symptoms" hardly justify a week-long delay in jury selection in his child abuse trial. It's also probably a really stupid defense tactic, as it allowed the jury pool to watch ABC's "Michael Jackson's Secret World" last Thursday night, with all its pedophelia overtones and weird behaviors, filmed and otherwise, about the pop music legend. And remember, the child by his side at that 2002 interview -- where Jackson unabashedly spoke about sharing his bed with young boys -- is the same boy who is now the centerpiece of this criminal trial.
Maybe the judge got the tense wrong. It's not that Jackson was really sick last week, it's that he is really sick.
Mon. February 21, 2005
Gonzo is Dead
Last night Hunter Thompson, author of Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas ("A savage journey to the heart of the American dream"), preeeminent practitioner of self-styled "gonzo" journalism and the inspiration for this blog, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his ranch in Woody Creek (Aspen), Colorado. Hunter S. Thompson Takes His Last Trip, Echoing Hemingway [MercuryNews.com]. Amid all the obituaries, many ask how a man who lived so hard could commit suicide, without even leaving a note.
That's not a quandry; it's perfectly in character. Given his exccessive consumption of drugs and alcohol for 30+ years, it's a wonder the man made it to 65 at all. And it seems that Thompson planned it himself, spending an intimate weekend with his kids and shooting himself in the kitchen while his wife was working out at her health club. Once the fun was over, Thompson often made clear, he wasn't going to stick around and watch the janitors sweep up.
Suicide is painless. It only hurts those left behind. Yet as Albert Camus wrote in The Myth of Sisyphus in 1942, "There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide." Indeed, it may be the only rational way to exit this insane world of ours.
Goodbye, Hunter. You died like you lived. Gonzo is dead; long live gonzo.
Update: Like Markos of The Daily Kos, there's only two authors for whom I have gone out of my way to read everything they've written -- Hunter S. Thompson and Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (Actually, there are five for me, since I've also read everything by Michael Chrichton, Tom Clancy and Robert Ludlum.) Oh well, serendipity is all we've got folks. Enjoy life while it lasts.
Thu. February 17, 2005
Bloggers Don't Do It Daily
Well it's 500 posts for me at Fear & Loathing since this blog was launched in March 2003. That's an average of 1.378 days between entries, or just a little under one a day (689 days since inception). Not bad for a part-time gig slotted into the busy life of a practicing lawyer, but also not the "do it daily" ideal -- for whatever that's worth -- of the blogosphere.
Sun. January 30, 2005
Little Boys
Michael Jackson says "Please keep an open mind and let me have my day in court. I deserve a fair trial like every other American citizen. I will be acquitted and vindicated when the truth is told," he added. Jackson Protests Leaks, Predicts Acquittal [USAToday.com].
That's what Scott Peterson claimed, too. And this time there's no fishing alibi, because the gloved one from Neverland admitted on national television that he likes to have little boys sleep in his bed. Sadly, the next time we see this M.J. it will be when they handcuff him after his conviction for child molestation.
Posted by glenn at 03:08 PM
Tue. January 25, 2005
Privacy of Consenting Adults
Supreme Court Justice Scalia warned of it in 2003 year when the court ruled sodomy laws unconstitutional, and now it has happened. A federal judge in Western Pennsylavnia has decided that the government has no right to outlaw the private consumption of obscene materials in the privacy of one's home. Handed down last week, but only highlighted on Nightline last evening, this decision could be an historic change in the status of "morality" legislation in the United States.
That is, as the court held, "the federal obscenity statutes burden an individual's fundamental right to possess, read, observe and think about what he chooses in the privacy of his own home by completely banning the distribution of obscene materials."
Ah, I am sure those red-state social conservatives are just pining away for the days of "Reefer Madness." Well, we've come a long way baby.
Sun. January 23, 2005
Let It Snow
You've gotta love how those who live in sunny (or at least relatively warm) climates treat a snowstorm. It's always the "worst of the century" and a "devastating" weather event. Airports and Highways Snarled as Blizzard Pounds Northeast [SeattleTimes.com].
But the reality is that two feet of snow -- which is what Boston experienced over the weekend -- is hardly a lot compared with snowfall from the 19th and 20th centuries, including as recently as 1978. And airport closures have nothing to do with how bad a storm is, only that clearing snow always takes a while.
So for those who get out their worry beads when the white flakes start to fall back East, don't worry. It's just snow.
Thu. January 20, 2005
Police State Security
The media reports predicted that the security precautions for today's 55th presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C. would be "unprecedented." Well, one had to be there -- as I was this morning and afternoon -- to appreciate what 9/11 and the like have done to America.
Whole sections of downtown were locked off, blocked by buses and guarded by SWAT teams with high-powered rifles. Iron barricades lined all of Pennsylvania Avenue, so spectators were crammed together into small cordoned-off areas, and police and military personnel formed a human barrier for 1 1/2 miles down the entire parade route. In the skies surveillance aircraft hovered constantly, riot police with billy clubs in hand were everywhere, snipers positioned on every rooftop and it seemed like every other person in the crowd had a Secret Service radio ear-piece. (The photo below -- click for the full-sized shot -- is the presidential motorcade passing by on its way back to the White House. Note the salutes from the sailors on the right and across the street at the Justice Department.) Unbelievable. And scary.
All of this contrasts sharply with Dubya's attempt at stirring rhetoric of freedom and liberty. I remarked months ago that 9/11 was making D.C. look like Beirut. Today it looked more like the "Green Zone" in Baghdad. The ideals of America and our Constitution are indeed a beacon of hope. But while most of the country and the world will see only the photo op of Bush walking, smiling and waving for 1/2 block in front of the White House, the reality is that this Administration is so spooked it is afraid of its own citizens. Abraham Lincoln and John Kennedy are turning over in their graves. It's just hard to understand how a president can pretend to represent the people when he governs inside a fortress, walled off from those who wait hours in the cold just for a glance. We now have a president and a government of the FBI, by the Secret Service and for the military -- not the people.
So the question is, does Bush "put up" with this like Clinton, or does he really like the sterility of a capitol city and political culture in which the citizenry and its leaders are separated by guns, military squadrons and miles of barriers? I hope it is not the latter, but fear that's exactly what is going on here.
Mon. January 10, 2005
Rooney's Ass
Fox is refusing to air a commercial on the SuperBowl in which octagenarian Mickey Rooney -- in an ad for an over-the-counter cold remedy -- briefly shows his ass while in a sauna. Fox says that its "standards and development department" concluded that the commercial should be "deemed inappropriate for broadcast television." But that euphamism does nothing to disguise the simple fact that Fox is afraid of the FCC's unprincipled "indecency" campaign that started a year ago with Janet Jackson's "nipplegate" affair. That a major national broadcast television network cannot distinguish a breast from buttocks and titilation from advertisement is a sad testament to the terribly coercive media self-censorship resulting from the lack of any predictability to the FCC's politically motivated enforcement policies.
Fri. January 7, 2005
Somebody's Crazy Here
OK, so this afternoon Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston announced they were splitting up after 4 1/2 years of marriage. The End of Brad and Jen [E! Online News]. This just a few weeks following a well-publicized caribbean cruise over New Year's featuring lots of kissing and cuddling. Well, that was all a charade, as they've been discussing separating for months.
More importantly, these two have got to be nuts. We're talking the number 1 stud in Hollywoon and an absolutely adorable (and talented) comedic actress. They were made for each other. It's a sad reality of the entertainment industry that most marriages look more like one-night hook-ups than anything resembling real commitment. Anyone who would throw either of these people out of their bed is definitely insane, or at least bi-polar, including both Brad and Jen themselves.
Tue. December 21, 2004
10 Worst Films
Michael Ventre, movie critic for MSNBC, has compiled his list of the 10 worst films of 2004. Let me say that I saw "Christmas With the Kranks," which Ventre lists as #10. It's very hard to believe that there were nine movies worse than that clunker!
Tue. November 30, 2004
74 In a Row
So Ken "Jeopardy" Jennings, after dominating the TV game show hosted by Alex Trebek for $2.52 million over six months -- the biggest quiz show money winner in history -- finally lost. He's an amazingly smart guy, filled with obscure trivia, but he's become arrogant and mightingly annoying after 74-straight games of winnning. And most of the competitors matched against him wouldn't even ring their buzzers!!. So long, Ken! Take the money and run -- far away.
Mon. November 22, 2004
Greek to Me
Controversy over Oliver Stone's depiction of Alexander the Great as a bisexual returns the filmmaker to the familiar role of so-called historical revisionist. The AC/DC of Alexander B.C [FilmStew.com]. But the Greeks were acknowledgly homosexual, so it's not difficult to surmise that Alexander -- without female companionship on military campaigns lasting years -- also partook. And what's the difference? It's a movie, for God's sake.
Sun. November 21, 2004
The Dead Kennedys
The folks at JFK Reloaded say their new PC game takes as a given that the Warren Commission's conclusion was right -- that the shots killing John F. Kennedy in November 1963 all came from the Texas School Book Depository building. Kennedy Assassination Re-Created in Video Game [CNN.com]. I don't think that's correct. When millions of players, like the CBS re-enactment in 1966, can't reproduce the supposed three shots, they'll have a little better appreciation for Oswad's repeated insistence that he was "just a patsy."
Fri. November 19, 2004
Whip It
This story reports on how technology is now being used, after several thousands of years, to develop sex toys for men, not just for women. Pushing the Male Envelope [Wired News]. Thank goodness for sexual equality. We've come a long way, baby!
Thu. November 18, 2004
Top 500 Rock Classics
OK, so what sort of an insane "top 500" list for rock and roll would put The Eagles' Hotel California at number 49 and place The Who's My Generation -- admittedly, a masterful early rock anthem of youthful rebellion -- above their classic, powerful and clearly best piece, Baba O'Reilly? Rolling Stone Names "Top 500 Songs". And to top it all off, you can read about the list in news reports, but there's absolutely nothing on the Rolling Stone web site at all.
Rolling Stone used to be a great magazine. Since they started putting provocative sex kitten photos on the cover, however, I think Jan Weiner and company have just lost it. This list proves they're living so far in the past they don't even remember the '70s. A sad end to a once-proud legacy.
Mon. November 15, 2004
Favre For President
This weekend my family and I traveled to the shrine of NFL football -- Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin -- to see already legendary quarterback Brett Favre lead the Packers to yet another last-minute victory. Rescue Act [Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel]. It was quite an experience. Our view of the stadium (pre-game) is below, and more photos are posted on my Multimedia Pages. Go Pack Go!
Update: Those folks in Wisconsin really know how to drink beer. Perhaps as a result, their reputation for niceness and orderly behavior may be a bit of a myth, because 14 people were arrested and 29 ejected during the game.
Thu. November 11, 2004
I Wasn't Kidding
Yesterday I warned that the FCC's outrageously political "indecency" campaign would result in self-censorship by broadcast networks afraid of a mercurial and unpredictable regulatory response. Well, today that fear became a reality. ABC is airing Stephen Speilberg's Oscar-winning film, Saving Private Ryan, but nearly 65 local affilates -- including in such metropolitan areas as Boston -- have refused to broadcast the film, citing the FCC. The network has shown the movie on Veterans' Day for two years, without incident, but now it's being replaced by re-runs of The Andy Griffith Show.
So the lesson is that to comply with the FCC's views on "community standards," we're now retreating to the social standards of the 1950s. Booyah, what a step backwards. It's not even "Father Knows Best," but "Washington Knows Best." Veterans groups, Sen. John McCain and even the parental organizations that complained about Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" are up in arms, but once unleashed the scourge of censorship is damn hard to stop. Way to go, Mike!@!
Wed. November 10, 2004
Indecency and the Consitution
A good sound bite from your faithful author. Viacom to Take "Hard Line" Over FCC Fines [Chicago Tribune]. As I've blogged before, the blatantly political use of indecency regulation only highlights the First Amendment risks -- censorship and all that -- which are inherent in an ad hoc approach to whether risque content passers muster on the airwaves. The courts, including the Supreme Court, will be hard pressed to justify this outrageously vague and selective enforcement, let alone the entire "scarcity" doctrine under which network TV is regulated but satellite and cable programming are not. Red Lion may finally have met its match. (If I post George Carlin's "Seven Dirty Words" here, will Mike Powell come after me?)
Fri. November 5, 2004
Reliving the '60s
I've been convinced for a while that the neocons who dreamed up what has turned into a fiasco in Iraq -- Cheney, Wolfowitz, Rice and that entire crowd -- really want to refight the Vietnam War and the counterculture of the 1960s. Well, they lost then and simply can't turn back the clock. While Hugh Hewitt of the Weekly Standard essentially concedes that the real fight in this election was about the '60s, his contention that Kerry's defeat "ends" the '60s is just whacko.
The End of the Sixties. Sorry, Hugh. The '60s ended with Watergate and Nixon's resignation. Those "mistakes" of 1974 and 1975 were the very victory of the left that you still can't accept. The mistakes made then were by the establishment, not the anti-war movement. The counterculture won and Cheney, Wolfowitz and Rice missed out. They never grew their hair long, supported one president (Nixon) who broke the constitution and another (Ford) who couldn't walk and chew gum at the same time, and now are doing it again.
So for 150,000 votes in a few counties in Ohio we've got to put up with this pious, contemptuous revisiontist history? Bullshit! To all those conservatives who still refuse to admit defeat in the '60s, I say get over it. You won Tuesday, fair and square, but only Chairman Mao could change history. America ain't Red China and thank God for that!!
Wed. November 3, 2004
Dirty Dean Dozen
Apparently the most important character trait for being a politician is having the ability to look into the camera (or in this case, the blog) and lie through your teeth. Howard Dean's Democracy for America blog this afternoon carried a statement saying:
Ah, Howard, the Dems got trounced for the exact reasons you said in November they would. If there's a choice between two Republicans, this country goes for the real one every time. That was true even during the "liberal" years of Adlai Stevenson (i.e., President Eisenhower). And in my own backyard -- where Kerry carried Fairfax County, VA by 53%-47% -- the Democratic congressional candidate lost to a hugely unpopular incumbent by a whopping 64%-36%. That's not even a dent into the traditional incumbent winning margin and was almost the largest losing margin in the entire state.
Nothing has changed. Democractic politics are as bankrupt of ideas and principles as ever. One cannot lead this vast and diverse country just by being against things. Kerry and the Democratic ticket only made the case for why Bush was flawed, but provided little or no positive reasons to vote for them. They got exactly what they deserved.
Even worse, they won't even fight about it. Kerry's pablum position that he was conceding to "bring the country together" is hogwash. We're about to enter into a real culture war in America -- not the trumped-up one Pat Buchanan warned of in 1992 -- and it's not going to be pretty. So Kerry won't fight, while Bush is coming out swinging. Deja vue all over again.
Wed. October 27, 2004
iPod Photo
I don't know precisely what this means, but Apple's annnouncement yesterday of a new iPod Photo, with 60GB and the ability to store, sync and display 25,000 photos, surely means yet another revolution in personal digital multimedia. If the iPod changed music listening from albums to playlists -- which it most definitely has -- what will this new device do to snapshots, photography and slide shows? Wait and see, but I believe it will be significant and perhaps unexpected.
Thu. October 14, 2004
Shock Jocks and Free Speech
"When Howard Stern is the nation's leading defender of the First Amendment, you know something has gone horribly wrong." That's what Brian Chin says about the FCC's indecency rules in arguing that the agency has outlived his usefulness. Buzzworthy: Fadeout for FCC? [seattlepi.com].
Well, he's right and he's wrong. What is horribly wrong is that the FCC's indecency campaign is a transparently political effort to legislate morality on a steadily declining segment -- broadcasting -- of the media market. Hence Stern's move to the satellite-radio provider Sirius to escape government censorhip. But what is perfectly right is that it has always been folks like Stern -- and Lenny Bruce and many others before him -- who pushed the envelope of political speech.
Civil liberties in America exist to protect everyone, but it is only a few bold people among us, sometimes vulgar, who actually have the nerve to test the limits of the First Amendment. America has relied on the Howard Sterns of this world for more than two centuries to maintain the principles of free speech. Like him or not, his battle with the FCC is a classic paradigm of civil liberties. Nothing wrong with that at all. It's precisely what the Founding Fathers had in mind.
Tue. October 12, 2004
Disrespect This
So Michael Jackson is "irked" by a new Eminem music video, "Just Lose It," calling for it to be banned from MTV and such. The stinging Eminem clip shows the mischievous rapper, dressed as Jackson, sitting on a large bed as young boys play behind him. The Gloved One was furious when he got wind of the offending video, calling Eminem's latest work "outrageous and disrespectful."
Hey, if you want respect stop molesting young boys, Michael. Neverland is a fantasy, not a place to live out one's repressed sexual fantasies. Who gives a shit what this warped (and formerly talented) soul thinks anyway. Go get him, Em!
Tue. September 28, 2004
Sick of (In) the 'Burbs
A new study by the Rand Corp. finds that people who live in suburban sprawl, such Atlanta, Denver and many other American metropolitan areas, are more likely to report chronic health conditions than those in compact urban cores like New York or Boston. Feeling Sick? New Study Suggests Urban Sprawl Is Partly to Blame [LATimes.com]. Folks who reside amid urban sprawl showed increased reports of hypertension, arthritis, headaches and breathing difficulties, among other chronic health conditions. Sedentary, car-dominated lifestyles and air pollution appeared to be contributing factors.
So the suburbs may be sickening, really. In contrast, the study found no link between suburban sprawl and a greater incidence of mental health problems. Now that's depressing!!
Wed. September 15, 2004
21st Century Foxes
By a lopsided vote of 356 to 166, the British House of Commons today decided to outlaw the centuries-old tradition of fox hunting in the UK. Tally-No to Fox Hunting [IHT.com]. The vote followed an emotional debate between supporters, who called fox hunting barbaric, elitist and hopelessly outmoded, and opponents who accused the government of intruding on people's civil liberties and trampling on their rural way of life.
Well I for one think this is just stupid. It's not like foxes are an endangered species. I am not a hunter, but it is indisputable that hunting is mankind's principal occupation -- that which distinguished us from the apes and led to all of human evolution -- so what's the difference between hunting deer with high-powered rifles and hunting foxes with dogs? (None, actually, and so the British IFAW animal welfare group crows about polls showing that 76% of people said they wanted hunting with dogs to be banned and 82% said deer hunting should also be illegal.) Societies everywhere raise domesticated animals (cattle, sheep, etc.) solely for the purposes of killing and eating them. Isn't it just as barbaric to raise animals that are destined never to live and only to be slaughtered, in cold blood, so human beings can eat? At least the foxes have a sporting chance, which is more than one can say for cows.
Meanwhile, the whole controversy has spawned threats of civil disobedience by hunters, security breaches by protesters in Parliment, and a looming constitutional crisis -- since the House of Lords has repeatedly rejected bans on fox hunting. As Frank Furedi of spiked.com puts it well:
Tue. September 14, 2004
Top Gun Retired
An era in military -- and movie -- history came to a close in Tucson yesterday. [Arizona Daily Star]. The original F-14A Tomcat, the "sexy," two-seat Navy warplane that co-starred with Tom Cruise in the 1986 hit film "Top Gun," officially was retired when the last of them landed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base on Monday. Oh well, even sexy planes can't last forever. And the movie itself's a little dated, but still hot.
Thu. September 2, 2004
Morons of Eagle County
So the local Colorado prosecutors have dropped their rape case against Kobe Bryant, saying the victim -- who has filed a civil lawsuit for damages -- does not want to testify. But the reality is these guys botched up the case from the start and then hid evidence from their forencic pathologist that the victim's injuries were inconsistent with forced sexual assault. Case Promised Only Defeat, Disgrace[MSNBC.com].
In the end, our system of justice put a rich, superstar public figure athlete under the media spotlight display for a year, forced him to spend millions of dollars in legal fees, and possibly ruined his reputation, on a case that never should have been brought in the first place. And because the criminal investigation and suit were overseen by a bunch of Keystone Cop proscutors, they ended up trashing Bryant's rights so badly that they eventually just gave up. Something's wrong with this picture.
Sat. August 28, 2004
No "I" in Team
Now that the U.S. men's Olympic basketball team has lost three games, poorly -- when America had won the gold medal in almost every Olympics and had not lost even a single game since NBA players first qualified in 1992 -- the dirty secret is out. They just can't play the game. Basically, It's Fundamentals [washingtonpost.com]. From basketball's inclusion in the Olympics in 1936 until this summer, the United States had won every gold medal save three -- in 1972, in a controversial loss to the Soviet Union, 1980, the year of the boycott, and 1988, in Seoul.
That's now well and truly over. As yesterday's Argentinian winner summarized:
That emphasis on individual talent and endorsement deals has turned NBA players into a morass of poor shooting and inept passing, punctuated by an occasional highlight-reel dunk. Even NBA commissioner David Stern agrees, saying "We have a great, great team here," but adding, "I shouldn't say that. We have 12 great basketball players."
And it's not a question of race. American's won't cheer for this team because it is not a team, rather a loose collection of overpaid, pampered one-on-one players. As Mike Wilbon cogently observes, Americans:
The NBA likes to ask if "you've got game." The real question is, does the team have skill. This sad assemblage of trash-talking U.S. basketball jammers is neither skilled nor a team.
Wed. August 18, 2004
24/7 Reality
David Meier writes in Fool.com about News Corp.'s announcement that it is launching a 24/7 all-reality televsion network, "I abhor the whole reality-TV concept." I just don't get it. TV is about entertainment, and reality television is about as entertaining as web-cams. Who gives a shit about a naked Richard and other losers getting "voted off the island"?
This is sick stuff. If reality TV is America, then we're all Neros watching Rome burn around us. It's a sure sign of a bankrupt society. Just that instead of barbarians at the gate, 1,600 years later we've got them on the tube.
Jacko and Probable Cause
Michael Jackson's lawyers lost their attempt to suppress evidence gathered in a search of his Neverland Ranch when the presiding judge ruled today -- based on the complaint filed by a 13-year old boy alleging sexual abuse -- that police had probable cause to believe a crime had been comitted. Judge Rules Police Had Probable Cause To Search Michael Jackson's Ranch [MTVcom].
This was a no-brainer. Yet another illustration of why some lawyers, who are content to make ridiculous arguments, give my profession such a bad public reputation. Oh, and the defense attorney was fined by the court for refusing to halt a line of cross-examination the judge ruled was irrelevant. That's both unprofessional and silly. Makes the lawyer, his client and the whole system of justice look bad. Maybe it is.
Mon. August 16, 2004
Pampered, Gutless and Second-Rate
This is why I have stopped watching professional basketball in the U.S. With yesterday's trouncing of the American Olympic basketball team by Puerto Rico -- which led by as much as 21 points in the fourth quarther -- the inherent weakness of a game in which players try only for slam dunks and ESPN highlights was glaringly obvious for the world to see. Mike Wilbon calls it "the end of an era," saying that:
Well said, Mike. The latest incarnation of the so-called Dream Team (and actually, this one is neither) got just what it deserved. They can't even shoot a 12-foot pull-up jumper, and the best 3-point shooter on the team was 47th in the NBA. A simple zone defense did them in, easily, from the start. It was sad, but oddly gratifying to watch. Nothing is going to change today's sports culture that celebrates these pampered, overpaid athletes, but yesterday revealed the vacuousness of their limited skills in stark detail.
Mon. July 26, 2004
Bourne Again
It's a fast-moving drama with lots of car chases. Very entertaining. The Bourne Supremacy topped worldwide box offices this weekend, twice as big an opening as its 2002 original. Like all movies drawn from spy novels, of course, it cannot hold a candle to the book. But who cares. This one was even better than the first!
Tue. July 20, 2004
You're No Good
Reacting to news stories that Linda Ronstadt was roundly booed off-stage and then fired by the Alladin Casino for making nice comments about Michael Moore during her show, morons.org observes ironically "we all know that True American Patriots go completely batshit insane and start angry mobs whenever somebody says something they don't like." Ah, tolerance is something special, but just something some Americans forget about from time to time.
Tue. June 15, 2004
Liberals Under God
Yesterday the Supreme Court reversed a California court of appeals ruling declaring the Pledge of Allegience unconstitutional, but did so on a legal technicality ("standing") to avoid reaching the merits of the issue. The New Republic Online: Thank God. Once again, the liberals and conservatives on the Court switched, with Chief Justice Rehnquist and Justice Clarence Thomas arguing in dissent that the Court should find standing and uphold the Pledge.
One of my professors in law school used to say that standing doctrine was invoked when courts found certain politically explosive cases too much of "hot potatoes" to decide. Now it seems that standing is used when the Supreme Court cannot get a majority on a single decision and one wing of the Court -- which remains sharply divided politically -- is trying to avoid a bad result on the merits.
Mon. May 24, 2004
Ogres Are Like Onions
I saw Shrek 2 over the weekend, as millions of others seem to have done as well. Shrek 2 Devours US Box Office. Very well done, possibly better than the original. Of course, I would rather be Mike Myers or Cameron Diaz, each of whom was paid $10 million to do the voices for a mere five days work. Now that's the life!
Tue. April 27, 2004
Full Attention
Just days after being indicted on a second set of charges for child molestation, Michael Jackson fired high-profile criminal defense attorney Mark Geragos, saying "it is imperative that I have the full attention of those who are representing me."
Well, it's also imperative that lawyers have clients who know what's going on, who don't give psychotic interviews to the press, and who don't sleep with adolescent kids in their beds. But no one can control these super celebrities. They live in another world. For this, Jacko is going to pay a real price, soon.
Wed. April 21, 2004
The End of Males?
Last year I blogged about the incredible shrinking Y chromosome. Now genetic researchers have created a female mouse with the genetic material from two mothers. But Mr. Big from Sex and the City, I think, proves that males are needed more than ever...perhaps just not for reproduction any more.
Tue. April 20, 2004
Cell Phone Holding Tank
What a great and simple idea. At Baltimore-Washington Airport, just north of where I live, officials have put together a 50-acre parking lot where motorists can await wireless calls from arrivng passengers. This avoids driving in circles around the airport or wasting time and money on leaving one's car. BWI 'Cell Phone Lot' to Untangle Traffic.
Now all we need is a similar holding lot for all the terrorists, the TSA inspectors, the federal air marshals and the rude flight attendants, and we would be all set. Not!
Conning London
Kevin Spacey, who in my opinion is absolutely one of the best actors of the last decade, has recanted his claim of being mugged in a London park, admitting he was conned by a teenager into giving up his wireless phone. [SunTimes.com].
So Kevin, what in heaven's name are you doing walking a dog at 4:30 a.m. in Kensington Park? And how can you injure yourself by "tripping over Mini, [your] Jack Russell terrier"? Even the London tabloids are being somewhat restrained in lambasting this incredible story, saying that visting Kensington in the wee hours is a "slightly eccentric thing to do." Others point out that Spacey, who won Oscars for his work in The Usual Suspects and American Beauty, has always denied rumours that he is gay.
Frankly, I don't care either way. Just get your butt back to bed until the sun comes up, Kevin, and no more cavorting with the London pigeons in the middle of the night.
Wed. April 7, 2004
Rush Limbaugh and the ACLU
So Rush Limbaugh -- fighting a legal and poltical battle against Florida prosecutors investigating him for money laundering and doctor shopping in connection with his addiction to painkillers -- argues to an appellate court today that the government's seizure of his medial records violates his 4th Amendment constitutional right to privacy. And liberal groups like the American Civil Liberties Union are taking his side. (You can watch the hearing on his Web site, too.)
Thank goodness for those card-carrying ACLU pinkos when you need them, huh, Rush? Roy Black, Limbaugh's lawyer, says these are not strange bedfellows because the case is not political. Oh, but it is, it is. We've got the most prominent conservative media pundit relying on those he and his right-wing colleagues have lambasted repeatedly in the past to defend his own rights. It's entirely political; just that politics looks a little different when you are staring at a set of handcuffs and criminal prosecution. As the ACLU itself boasts, it:
Yeah, this is not a political case!! Right.
Sun. March 28, 2004
Seat Belts for Pets
In Santa Fe, New Mexico, local officials are contemplating passing an ordinance that would require pet owners to restrain their dogs, cats and ferrets in special pet seats or with seat belts while traveling in a moving vehicle. Most news outlets ran the story today under their "odd" or "oddly enough" banners. Screwy, whacko or insane would be a more appropriate categorization. America may have become a nation in which personal resonsibility is unfortunately excused because we are all treated as vicitims, but now we're treating pets like children. Since the U.S. already has a new federal law that makes it a crime to kill a pregnant woman's fetus, why not prosecute those who fail to put pets in seat belts as murderers, too?
Sun. March 7, 2004
Martha's Web of Deceit
As predicted here last Thursday, Martha Stewart was convicted for fraud and obstruction of justice as a result of lying about her stock sales of ImClone. The jury reported that the queen of home decorating was done in by a "self-spun web of deceit." And in an interesting note, one juror added that "[i]f they can introduce something new at the appeal, I would be very surprised. I don't see how an appeal will work." Martha, you've been nailed, solidly. Close the books on this one.
Thu. March 4, 2004
"Martha Stewart Living," Behind Bars?
Yessiree, looks like Martha is going down. Martha Stewart Jurors Focus on Testimony of SEC Attorney [sfgate.com]. I don't like the fact that the government sued her for perjury instead of directly for securities fraud (insider trading), but lying is lying. She and her broker pal Bacanovic seem to have made up an incredible story, a whopper the jury is set to disbelieve. We should know by the end of the week.
Tue. February 17, 2004
Elton As Liberace?
Elton John has taken over Celine Dion's show a Ceasar's Palace in Las Vegas. Some critics may like it, but I think having this rock icon star in a Vegas Strip act makes him a tragic figure. Las Vegas may have changed over the years, but the biggest performers in that desert wasteland have always been Wayne Newton and Liberace. One would have hoped that the legendary musician who penned "Funeral For a Friend," "Your Song," and "Candle In the Wind" -- among many other hits -- would be a little bigger than those two-bit, untalented has beens.
Mon. February 9, 2004
Back In the USA
No, they never sang that Chuck Berry classic (unlike Roll Over Beethoven), but The Beatles are a hit once more 40 years after their first appearance in the USA on the Ed Sullivan Show. Here's an interesting list from CNN of the 40 best Beatles songs of all time. Boy, they were good. Yesterday's Grammy winners Beyonce and Outkast will be long gone in a year or two, but John, Paul, George and Ringo will rock on for many more decades.
Tue. February 3, 2004
A Little Nipple
Shaun Powell's commentary from Newsday about the Janet Jackson "wardrobe malfunction" is right on.
The NFL consciously wanted to bring in a more "youthful" audience by catering to the MTV crowd. Now they're backing away full speed, but can't dispute that they tried to have it both ways. Moral -- sex sells, even in football.
The Breast Superbowl Ever
After Sunday's brilliant Superbowl game, all anyone wanted to talk about Monday was the half-time show, in which Justin Timerblake ripped off part of Janet Jackson's leather bodice. The NFL, CBS and even the FCC all expressed their "shock" and "outrage." But this is nothing compared to the stuff shown on television every day, especially in music videos. Drop the Outrage, Bra-Play Was Blasé [TheStar.com]. What is it about two seconds of skin that has everyone so worked up? Personally, I found the repreated ads for erectile dysfunction drugs -- including one warning about the dangers of a four-hour erection -- much more tasteless and inappropriate.
Sun. February 1, 2004
Net Clutter
There's a ton of great content available on the Internet, but it seems Superbowl.com (run by the NFL, of course) is not one of them. Generally a bunch of repurposed blather and programs for the half-time entertainment, massively cluttered with a whole slew of sponsor banners, logos, polls, aninated GIFs and the like. Anyone give a spit about the football game anymore? For the record, I am picking the Patriots by 10 and think it should be an excellent contest.
Mon. January 26, 2004
Mr. Rogers Before His Time
When Captain Kangaroo passed away last Friday -- after 30+ years on network and public television as a children's show host -- he left lots of pleasant memories. Bob Keeshan, the actor, started as Clarabell the Clown on The Howdy Doody Show and then invented a new genre of children's television by joining with his friends Mr. Green jeans and all. He was Mr. Rogers before these as a Mr. Rogers.
Fri. January 23, 2004
The Angry Man
Political commentators and late-night comedians are just tickled to death over Howard Dean's rant last Monday night -- to a bunch of college supporters -- in which, after losing the Iowa caucuses, he screamed, shreaked and overall acted just plain old pissed off. A Dean Roar is Echoing Far [ Philadelphia Inquirer].
I for one do not understand what's at all wrong with an outside-the-beltway candidate being angry at the sorry state of affairs that American national politics has come to be in Washington. After all, Ronald Reagan got mad a George Bush 41 in New Hampshire in 1980, shouting "I paid for this microphone" when Bush wanted to duck a debate. I still believe Peter Finch was right in the 1976 Acadamy Award winning film Network. "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore."
So, I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go the window, open it, and stick your head out and yell, "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!!"
We could use some more anger in America these days.
Thu. January 22, 2004
Google Bombing
So if you enter "miserable failure" into Google you come up with George Bush's White House bio. Engineering Google Results to Make a Political Point [nytimes.com]. They call this networked use of Web links "Google Bombing," since it takes a coordinated effort to influence the search engine's algorithms.
The only weird thing is that BBC reported on this fad nearly six weeks ago. What took The Times so long to catch up? And why haven't our conservative blog colleagues counter-attacked to place someone else in the #1 Google position for "miserable failure"?
Fri. January 16, 2004
4o Years Ago Today
As they wrote (sort of) in Sgt. Pepper's, it was 40 years ago today that the Beatles burst onto the American scene. Exhibit Marks Beatles' Journey to U.S. [Yahoo! LAUNCH]. Woah. A lot has changed since then. The relative innocence of "I Want To Hold Your Hand" is just astounding in hindsight. But those four lads from Liverpool changed the world, began the youth culture that still pervades our society, and wrote some music that still resonates today.
Wed. January 7, 2004
Mr. Britney
Local Girl Leaves Town, Makes Good, Breaks Heart [NYTimes.com]. "She, like, broke his heart," is what locals in Kentwood, Louisiana say about Britney Spears' quickly-annuled, 55-hour marriage to an old friend from kindergarten. Britney got an annulment on Monday for the impulsive ceremony at the Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, in which she wore ripped jeans and a baseball cap to wed Jason Alexander, football star and son of an auto mechanic. He says they were just chilling at 3:30 a.m. watching "Texas Chain Saw Massacre" in her hotel room. I can think of a lot better things to do than that with a girl of Britney's stature -- and they don't include either movies or wedding ceremonies!!
Princess Di
So while the British coroner starts an inquiry into the death of Princess Diana in her Mercedes limousine in Paris six years ago, the London tabloids have now released a letter allegedly written by Diana in the months before her death claiming that Prince Charles was planning to have her killed in a car accident to clear the way for him to remarry. Accusations Swirl Around Diana Probe. This is good stuf. Sick, but good!!
Tue. January 6, 2004
Screwing Around In China
The Chinese ping pong team has bounced two of its members for romantic activities. Not because of any concern about sexual harassment or molestation, but rather because the Chinese olympic committee thinks its athletes have only "a few years to train and compete [and] cannot spend it too much on dating." [IHT.com].
You gotta love a country that is so NOT politically correct and that boots folks screwing in the closet not because of how it looks but because of how it affects actual work. (And of course all of this is trivial in comparison to the ping pong sex shows performed in Thailand.) Now if they could only do the same for those college students standing in front of tanks in Tiananmen Square.
Morrow Is Dead
When CBS paid Michael Jackson to do a fawning "60 Minutes" inteview, I commented that Edward R. Murrow must be turning over in his grave. Well now CBS is denying that it paid Jackson, apparently hiding behind the euphamism that having its entertainment division "sweeten" the deal for a prime-time special by $1M if Jackson did the 60 Minutes interview is not paying for the interview.
CBS Charges "Times" Printed "Colossal Lie" [USAToday.com]. "CBS shredded whatever remained of its news division's ethical standards," wrote Tim Rutten in the Los Angeles Times. "Checkbook journalism is a pretty dirty term, but it somehow seems inadequate to describe the arrangement. All that's missing is a wire transfer to a numbered account in the Cayman Islands." But again, a million dollars distributed from this budget or that budget doesn't necessarily taint CBS or the, uh, venerable CBS News any more than they have already tainted themselves by simply serving as Jackson's de facto marketing arm.
Maybe we should just all give up the pretense that there's anything left to journalism today. Morrow is dead and buried. He's never coming back.
Sun. January 4, 2004
The DVD Eats Hollywood
According to The Hollywood Reporter, in 2003 domestic theatrical revenue fell for the first time in 11 years. If this suggests that Americans are going to the movies less frequently, I certainly agree. Forget about the price, poor service and surly refreshment clerks, the simple fact is that there are only a handful of movies released every year that justify going out to see. Not when DVD and home theater technology have progessed to the point where most films are better viewed in the living room, rather than the movie theater. In short, 2003 was "the year when DVDs ate Hollywood."
Jack Valenti and the MPAA are worried about Internet file-sharing eroding the movie industry. I would think that Hollywood needs to be concerned more about the movie theater experience itself becoming a relic of history.
Fri. January 2, 2004
The Top 10
One of the more fun annual year-end lists is Google's report on its "top ten" searches. For 2003, they say that Brittney Spears and Harry Potter were 1-2, followed by The Matrix, Shakira, David Beckham and 50 Cent. Even if one digs deeper, looking only at new searches, the results -- Laci Peterson, Kobe Bryant, etc. -- suggest that the Internet reflects our celebrity and crime-obsessed culture. Technocrats used to say "The Internet changes everything." I don't think so!!
Tue. December 30, 2003
Murrow Need Not Apply
Sunday night's "60 Minutes" interview with Michael Jackson was a charade, a ratings ploy with no journalistic integrity. CBS anchor Ed Bradley never challenged Jackson's story that Santa Barbara police had "manhandled" him during booking for child molestation, dislocated his shoulders, burned his arms and locked him in a bathroom covered in feces for 45 minutes. That Jackson was surrounded by his lawyers and security detail at the time never seems to have occured to Bradley. And now, CBS runs a story on its Web site-- teasingly titled Injury Claims A Sham? -- that is just too little, too late.
Instead of pandering to this whacko and pretending it was conducting an objective interview, CBS should have abandoned any pretense of having principles and given Jackson his own prime time special. Oh, they have done that was well. One month ago, CBS said airing a Jackson special would be "inappropriate," given the "gravity" of the charges" against the singer. Which we now know is just a euphemism for "after giving CBS News an exclusive interview denying all charges."
These guys have no honor, they have no pride, they have no principles. And they could certainly use some cohones. Edward R. Murrow, the iconic radio correspondent who launched CBS on its news leadership in the 1940s during WWII, would be ashamed of how his legacy has been tarnished.
Sat. December 27, 2003
XM Rocks
I got XM Radio this week for my cars and have thoroughly enjoyed the service. It made me wonder why I hardly ever listen to music on the radio anymore, even though I am a devoted iTunes Music Store customer and have 20GB of digital music on my MP3 player.
Well, Stephen Holden, music critic for the New York Times, answers that in his article Critic's Notebook: High-Tech Quirkiness Restores Radio's Magic. Music beamed by satellite has resurrected "the thrill of musical discovery," he says, that has all but vanished on regular FM (terrestrial) radio.
Yes, XM rocks. But this helps explain why. Even the old stuff is new on XM. It's fun to listen without endless commercials and overly-loud DJ voice-overs, as well. At bottom, though, it offers a sense of variety and newness that one just cannot get on commercial FM radio these days. Blame Clear