Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Hillary Clinton: "I Did NOT Call That Man A Faggot"

- NY Times Compares Hatemonger Ann Coulter to Hillary Clinton-

Remember when Ann Coulter called John Edwards a "faggot"? I said to myself, "Hot damn, that hotshot little Carolina lawyer is a POOFSTER? Sheeeeeeit!!, I didn't know that. Not AT ALL...

Seriously: how does one pull off slandering a first rate trial lawyer who has decided to run for President of the United States? I know he's a public figure and all....but

There's "The Party of Hate", otherwise known as the Republican party, which the despicable Goddess of Hatism, Ann Coulter, stumps for. And then, there is the corporatist driven faction of the party that is 'supposed' to stand for Democratic values (but doesn't) otherwise passed off to the rest of us as the DLC, which Hillary Clinton, Democratic Presidential contender, represents.

But how Adam Nagourney came up with comparing Coulter to Hillary when he wrote the following in the NY Times leaves little to the imagination of his support or lack thereof of HRC:

"The question of whether the remark was offensive enough aside, the Edwards campaign saw an opportunity in the remarks of a woman who is about as popular in liberal Democratic circles as [Sen.] Hillary Rodham Clinton [D-NY] is in Republican circles (not very). Mr. [David] Bonior [Edwards' campaign manager] sent an e-mail to supporters last night urging them to make contributions to the Edwards campaign."

Low blow or politics as usual? To compare HRC to the sick, soulless manipulator Coulter is inexcusable, under any circumstances.

http://mediamatters.org/items/200703030006?src=other

-2Truthy


2Truthy's Scooter Libby Trial Movie Casting Picks

-The Valerie Plame and Joe Wilson CIA Leak Saga-

Starring Lisa Kudrow and Sean Penn


I have always thought that former Friends star, Lisa Kudrow, bore a striking resemblance to Valerie Plame. Aside from the fair haired blonde profile, I think it's the nose...

Add Sean Penn to play the role of Joe, and you get a CIA-spooksville match made in Hollywood.

And who could deny that James Woods (The Boost) would not make the most awesome Scooter Libby? Reunite Sean Young (The Boost) with Woods to play the role of Judith Miller to add a certain j'ne sais qouis to the mix, and hold onto your seats!

Variety reports that Warner Bros. announced it is making a movie about the lives of Valerie Plame and Joe Wilson. Should the movie venture into the murky waters of the Scooter Libby Trial, here are 2Truthy's top casting picks:


Casting

Scooter Libby: James Woods
Judith Miller: Sean Young
Tim Russert: Kevin Spacey
Patrick Fitzgerald: Tim Robbins
Ted Wells: Samuel L. Jackson
Valerie Plame: Lisa Kudrow
Joe Wilson: Sean Penn
Dick Cheney: Brian Dennehey
Mary Matalin: Celine Dion


-2Truthy


Schwarzenegger Does Green

"I say to the people of Kowleefornia, we must let the fox guard the chicken coop." -Jolly Green Newbie Politico, A. Schwarzenegger


Did you know that California's largest agricultural industry donor, A.G. Kawamura, doubles as the Governor's Food and Agriculture Secretary? So, next time you hear about an E. coli outbreak, take comfort in the fact that at least Governor Green Giant didn't offend his big donors.
The LA Times reports that Arnold is resisting legislation that would ensure more oversight of growers of the leafy greens
Why does Arnold want to leave the leaf growers alone? More green $$$$$? Agricultural interests, who are concerned that cleaning up their act might and eat into their profits, have given the Ahnuld more than $3.7 million in campaign contributions.
How green must we be to assume anything less?
-2Truthy

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHELSEA CLINTON

Chelsea Clinton's Graduation from Stanford, 1997
HAPPY (BELATED) BIRTHDAY CHELSEA


In case you already didn’t know, yesterday was Chelsea Clinton’s 27th birthday.

Between coughing fits and a low grade fever, I just didn’t have it in me yesterday to salute the former first daughter now working in an “undisclosed capacity” at the $12 billion hedge fund manager, New York based Avenue Capital Group, whose founder has contributed to many Democratic Party candidates. As it was, I hardly made it through the Academy Awards (thank God for Ellen) with the flu. It hasn’t DEPARTED yet, but the good news is that my favorite movie of the year took away a few Oscars. Back to Chelsea. And hedge funds.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15549672/


Chelsea seems nice. I bumped into her a few years ago at the Lancome counter at Nordstrom shortly before her graduation from Stanford (Palo Alto, CA.) She was with a girlfriend and was very casual and relaxed in the role of first daughter for everyone to see in the bucolic shopping center/campus surroundings. This brief encounter consisted of little more than an exchange of looks that signalled "hiya, Oh hey! You’re Chelsea, you look like your pictures” with her acknowledgement “You got it, have a great day” exchange of smiles as she completed her transaction for whatever it was that she hauled off with in her bag.

Anyway, I especially like the above photo of the happy, former first family.

The Dow ALSO hit the skids yesterday, which brings me back to Chelsea and hedge funds. After Chelsea's stint at McKinsey (Everyone I know who worked for McKinsey was recruited straight out of graduate school and stuck around less than three years. Just an aside…), she is now doing "something" with hedge funds. So the Dow picked up today and everyone will forget about its temporary collapse yesterday, but is this a classic bull market for bullshit? Hedge funds are a form of "rewealth" distribution pools, exchanged between people wealthy enough to demonstrate they need no more than market returns and fund managers and specific Wall St. firms that execute their numerous orders.

Under normal circumstances, the stock market often lags behind (as opposed to leading) the economy. When the market finished its crash in 2002, the economy had already long since hit is bottom. As of 2003, the Dow measured in constant currency terms, has done very little. That's one reason why a great deal of money has been funneled into Hedge Funds - because the straight up indexes haven't been keeping up with an all important indicator - corporate profits -- which have been going up much faster than the Dow, or certainly any part of the economy other than real estate which now appears to be leveling off.

But something that should give everyone pause is the sector that has not fully participated in this rally -- the technology sector. Take out technology, and the S&P would be up, not down from its peak. That's not great news, because it was tech that drove productivity gains during the bubble.

Since hedge funds are kick starting the financing of some of the biggest venture-capital deals, it also reflects the need for start ups to raise larger amounts of cash to float them until an initial public offering or, increasingly commonplace, the rolling up into a larger, public portfolio company.

In a climate where technology start ups are seeing less opportunity for IPO’s as opposed to acquisitions and because hedge funds are loosely regulated investment vehicles, they often pony up more cash for stakes in start-ups than venture capitalists are willing to offer. 

The United States is now so far into the hole that even the Chinese and the Saudis are sacking their lust for the once mighty dollar. 

But hedge funds are not in fact “part of the market”-- they ARE the market. They manage profits through the use of heavy trading, localized trading, and publicity. Emphasis on publicity, capital “P”.

Hedge Funds create profit by taking large long positions, short it through the options market, and then drive the stocks down through massive sell offs in the equity market. That type of trading doesn’t take a genius, but it does take somebody with enough capital/leverage to simply manage a market in this way. Many times the sell off is generated through the use of publicity against the company by the aggressive fund.


In a word: There is little “chance or risk” when you have stacked the deck.

-2Truthy


Thursday, February 22, 2007

MAXINE WATERS FOR PRESIDENT

"Barack is trickier than Hillary." -Congresswoman Maxine Waters


Well, the picture says it all. Take one look at Hillary and you can see how she is just in no mood to apologize for her Iraq vote. Take a closer look and you will see Barack thinking hard about deflecting the next question. But in the center, you will find the most hardworking, intelligent, graceful yet straightforward politician of our times, Maxine Waters. It is a shame she is not running for president, for this is a woman who understands the needs of the majority of Americans and what it takes to maneuvre the political ropes.
Maxine Waters gets it! Read her sane and sound recent position on Iraq and Barack:
"At 8.4 billion dollars per month, http://freeinternetpress.com/story.php?sid=10185
money spent on the Iraq war could fund a renaissance of urban America and the nation's infrastructure, creating real jobs anchoring real families in an economy that is not fueled by the U.S. weapons of mass destruction industry. Every lawmaker and candidate that employs "nuancing and tip-toeing" to avoid bringing the Iraq war to a quick and definitive end, is objectively opposed to domestic American renewal - and to world peace.
Democratic primary voters will not speak for a year - all the chattering to date comes from corporate pundits, working their horse-race sheets. However, Barack Obama's cynical maneuvering presents a serious problem for the Black political class, most of whom are anti-war, as are their constituents. Where will they stand, in the face of corporate media-generated Obama-mania - when the presidential candidate is determined to stand nowhere at all?"
-2Truthy

Is Al Gore Running for God?



Is Al Gore Running for God?

Al Gore has worked up quite a lather in Hollywood lately, scoring an Oscar nod for his groundbreaking documentary about climate change. He should win and I hope he does, for this one movie alone has done more to immediately unite the world's attention on global warming better than any effort so far. There is even talk of Al announcing at the Oscars his White House bid. So far, just a rumor, one that I hope he will stash back into the same "Lock Box" it came out of. Not that I dislike him, but is another another pro-NAFTA, pro-outsourcing president what we need?
Over the past six months, a curious, intense following of Democrats has been building up buzz for this rumored bid with an incandescent vigor. Huffington Post blogger, Bob Cesca offered this compelling plea for Gore to run which elicted many comments on both sides of the question: Should he run?
From coast to coast, corporate welfare executives, lobbyists and students alike are carrying the torch for the undeclared Gore as if his potential run and then major windfall victory is nothing short of a foregone conclusion --an inevitable, MANDATORY outcome fueled by the dazzling possibility that the former vice president with the documentary and ties to Hollywood could clean up this whole fucking mess of a polluted planet in just 7 days. I do not mean this in a harsh way, but I am skeptical of certain green technologies, like ethanol, that are being funded that have the potential to permanently erode the topsoil. 'Google' this and see what many farmers and agricultural professors have to say. Let's just say that ethanol as a viable energy alternative is controversial. What does this have to do with Al? Well, what kind of green technology investments is he invested in? Will these technologies offer zillions of jobs for the displaced, educated middle class? These are some questions that the media is not asking when it comes to speculation about him running.
I voted for Gore even when it was clear that he had lacked good judgement by playing the sanctimonious card on Clinton over the Lewinsky job. As if that weren't enough, he ran a weak campaign throughout and he looked RELIEVED when he gave his concession speech. I was not the only Democrat disappointed...
I decided to turn to the Toronto Star to ask the Candadians for answers since it won't be long until our border has melted up there anyway and we'll all be carpooling back and forth for their universal healthcare and just be one big, Franglais/Spanglish speaking North American Union
-2Truthy

Saturday, February 17, 2007

George Clooney: Chinese New Year Hijacked by Muslims Censoring Pigs


FROM THE DESK OF QUINCY
"Both adults and children believe pigs are a lucky symbol, which bring fortune and wealth," Tenlow's Wu Ying said. "Their plumpness means prosperity." - Wu Ying


HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR, EVERYBODY!




TODAY BEGINS THE CHINESE NEW YEAR, THE YEAR OF THE PIG. George Clooney is the first person who comes to mind after reading this NPR Weekend Edition Sunday, February 18, 2007 article

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7480083


But how do you celebrate THE YEAR OF THE PIG without pigs?

Can somebody explain to me why, in the 21st Century, Muslims have a taboo on watching pigs on TV? In Shanghai, it is reported today that Muslims living in China say "seeing pig images on TV would make them feel very uncomfortable." So I am really wondering what George Clooney would say or do to save the bacon of millions of domestic pets and barnyard animals all across the globe if he only knew that this kind of censorship AND discrimination was happening in China!

According to NPR, Pigs have been banned from appearing in any ads on the state-run broadcaster, CCTV, after an order that is now surrounded by confusion. So what are they thinking over there in China? Don't they know that they stand to lose billions of dollars in advertising revenue alone by banning my highly appreciated brothers and sisters from lucrative contracts? If only George Clooney would champion this interspecies rights cause and convince his Hollywood neighbors of the importance of this vital, global issue.

And even though the Tenlow Brands SM, (Snack Manager), Wu Ying concurs


"Both adults and children believe pigs are a lucky symbol, which bring fortune and wealth" and that "their plumpness means prosperity", where are politically savvy actors like George Clooney to put some fresh spin in support of his favorite species?


While the Chinese government chalks up the ban as "harmonious", I find this government censorship most unfair because if everybody in the rest of the world ALSO discriminated against domestic pets and barnyard animals, then I and millions of others most certainly would permanently be out of a job and eventually become EXSTINKED. No, extinct. Ok.

Even big multinationals are aware of the sensitivities, reports Louisa Lim. Whereby a "Coca-Cola ad features a cute, Babe-like piglet braving mean city streets to get home for the Chinese New Year", according to Coke headquarters, things now go better with panda bears -- because the company later shot a SECOND version using PANDAS --- yes, PANDA BEARS --- instead! How come the Chinese don't care about rationality and favor religious extremist superstition?

Speaking of "Babe-like piglets"... and what a coincidence -- did you know that most recently, I lost an audition to this very serendipic, and quite frankly, empty headed and vacuous counterpart featured in the NPR article? Anyway, I just knew that this 'Babe' HAD to have been related or somehow beholden to the director, because if you could have been there to hear my 'harmonious' and perfect Jack Nicholson impersonation from "The Departed" (the part where he delivers my favorite line "We're A Nation Of Rats"), it was clear that I should have landed the part for this Chinese television advertisement.


Memo to George Clooney: Why not incorporate the following slogan into your new pet movie and or political campaign project:

"Don't allow Muslim extremism to take over the entertainment profession because it not only hurts profits but it discriminates against pigs!" No mincing words, here. Just come out with it.

Think of Max's honor, George, and how your championship would bring pride upon his immortal soul, knowing that you did the DECENT thing for our multicultural and interspecies survival.

-Quincy

Thursday, February 8, 2007

Peanut Butter May Contain Salmonella: Who Will Be The Next Peanut Butter Candidate?

Peter Pan Peanut Butter Recalled
"We're in a jam" 
-2Truthy


 


Luncheous Interruptus...Another Day. Another Lunch. Another Punch.
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_5233102


While Reaching into the pantry this morning for the unopened jar of Peter Pan Peanut Butter to make my son a P&J sandwich for lunch (the 'Creamy' style brand just like the one in the photo above left), I heard the morning news announcer say:



"certain batches of Peter Pan brand peanut butter may contain salmonella"


the very brand I was about to slap all over the two pieces of Boudoin Bakery sourdough bread that I picked up yesterday afternoon at the Ghiradelli Square bakery and cafe to blend with the Organic Napa rasberry preserves. "What did she just say?" I thought, as I peered at the list of ingredients on the jar and found no mention whatsoever of salmonella listed on the label! So much for truth in advertising. It would be a hot lunch today for my son, and godspeed, I hope an untainted, healthy one. So many brands, with so little emphasis on quality controls. From technology to food to healthcare to transportation, our consumer protections are a nostalgic blast from the past.



What happened to the FDA? Yet another assault on our consumer protections forced my hand in the pantry to toss the peanut butter -- no, better yet -- to return the peanut butter, as I will head for the grocery store and demand a refund and an explanation. Although I am sure there will be no problem getting the money back, the alarming increase in our tainted food supplies has left us millions of Americans at a loss, as multinational corporations and power brokers exchange our saftey for the profits of an elite few.


Why are our food safety standards ending up in the shitter? From e-coli tainted fruit juice to spinach to tomatoes to dairy products and back to meat, even Ralph Nader can't help us out of this jam, as the iron fist of corporate multinationals decide what's fair game in the global spread of 'democracy'.


Thanks, USFDA, for the heads-up. "Certain batches of Peter Pan brand peanut butter may contain salmonella and are being recalled by maker ConAgra Foods Inc.," the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said.

Although over 300 cases of salmonella poisoning were  linked to the Peter Pan brand, it was reported that AFTER ConAgra's own testing "did not detect the presence of salmonella either in the product or in the factory" according to a ConAgra spokesperson, then the question is what are the quality assurance processes and what can ConAgra (and other food processing plants) do to tighten up food saftey regulations and inspections BEFORE the shit hits the fan?


What are our elected officials doing about food safety? How the hell should I know. They don't care to know, they don't appear to face consequences since the foxes guarding the chicken coops under the banner of "globalization" these days are indistinguishable and even if they did, they wouldn't want us to know. The FDA these days has amounted to little more than the 'bad news public relations mouthpiece' for multinational corporations that seek profits over the health of people first.


Can you say 'Amero' en Ingles? Can't WAIT for that new, progressive 'Highway 35' to plow through Mexico and Texas on up to Canada...you know the one that was 'decided' without Congressional input or approval during the 2005 'talks' between Fox, Bush and Martin that agreed on the ten-lane trade superhighway full of Mexican trucks without emissions control standards that will be delivering all of that wink-wink nod-nod inspected produce from any place on earth for a slave's wage while health safety standards be damned?
Charles Rangel (D-NY), a member of the Trilateral Commission, and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont) lead the charge in the Democratic ranks. Traditionally, "Free Traders" are usually viewed as Republicans, but this is obviously not the case.





Concerns about White House free trade resources only underscore that there is only a very small number of people who are pushing this "New International World Order" agenda as proposed by the Trilateral Commission since 1973.



Who will stand up for health safety? I am tired of tainted goods.


-2Truthy

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, DEMOCRATIC HOPEFULS











-Two Lovebirds-










Happy Valentine's Day, Dem Sweethearts
(are these two not birds of the same corporate welfare-backed feather?)


Barack and Hillary sittin' in a tree
R-U-N-N-I-N-G
for the White House -- like two love birds
watch 'em get shagged
by JOHN EDWARDS!!!***


Barack and Hillary sittin' in a tree
R-U-N-N-I-N-G
for the White House -- and then comes Gore
to melt down their bid and kick em' out the door!


Barack and Hillary sittin' in a tree
R-U-N-N-I-N-G
for the White House -- and here comes Joe
with the Bankruptcy Bill so it's time for him to blow!


Barack and Hillary sittin' in a tree
R-U-N-N-I-N-G
for the White House but how about Clark
the former General can only hit the VP mark.


Barack and Hillary sittin' in a tree
R-U-N-N-I-N-G
for the White House did someone say 'Dodd'?
forget about this guy because he won't get the nod.


Barack and Hillary sittin' in a tree
R-U-N-N-I-N-G
for the White House so why not Kucinich?
like third party Nader
who ended up in the ditch!!!
-2Truthy
***2Truthy for John Edwards in 2008 - providing he takes a stand against the corrupt TechNet lobby to flood the country with unlimited h1b visas. If not, then we neeed to hear from Kucinich. Or Nader.

Barack Obama "Wasted" Comment: The Audacity of Dope

"The Audacity of Dope" -2Truthy

THIS JUST IN: Sen. Obama Apologizes Again for Saying Troops' Lives Were 'Wasted'

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,251727,00.html

Will the MSM please give Obama a break? He has nothing to apologize for. Barack's stance on pulling out of Iraq is intelligent and his blunt comment reflected his sensitivity to the troops that needlessly died for Halliburton. If you read what he actually said, it made perfect sense given the fact that thousands of our troops have died for an unworthy cause:

"We now have spent $400 billion and have seen over 3,000 lives of the bravest young Americans wasted."

Hey MSM, you'd have to be wasted, too, to put yourself on the front lines of this insane war....opium, chesterfields, whatever, but I know that I would have to be smoking plenty of something, too, before ever fathoming the thought of putting on a uniform to go to Baghdad and sacrifice my body and soul to only get my head blown off in the name of this Bush War only to make the Halliburton stockholders rich.


Obama immediately apologized on Sunday, saying the remark was "a slip of the tongue."During an appearance Monday in Nashua, N.H., he apologized again, telling reporters he meant to criticize the civilian leadership of the war, not those serving in the military.


"Even as I said it, I realized I had misspoken," Obama said. "It is not at all what I intended to say, and I would absolutely apologize if any (military families) felt that in some ways it had diminished the enormous courage and sacrifice that they'd shown."

From Australia to The Home of the Brave, cowardly MSM pitbulls have been nipping at Barack Obama's pantlegs for anything they can scratch up -- or make up. On the heels of Obama's announcement over the weekend for his presidential bid, the PM of Australia, John Howard -- who happens to be a fellow Bush-WHACKER, weighed in with a very, very cheap shot, stating that Obama's plan for troop withdrawl would

"encourage terrorists and Al Qaeda would be praying for a Democrats victory in the 2008 US election."

Low blow from Down Under!


Barack Obama On 60 Minutes With Steve Croft















"But I know in my heart that there is a core decency to the American people, and that
decency can be tapped." -Barack Obama
(Is it my imagination or does Mrs. Obama bear a striking resemblance to the late, great James Brown?)
No one can accuse Barack Obama of lacking vision, as the 60 Minutes interview with Steve Croft captured last night the ambitions of the junior Senator from Illinois. Discussing his candidacy which he announced over the weekend from the Old Capitol building steps of Springfield, Obama studiously answered many questions from his views on Iraq troop redeployment to his roots in black culture. Watch video below
The footage begins with a driver chauffering Croft and Obama around town in a $65,000 plus, fully loaded SUV in an area that Barack described as the "South Side" of Chicago where he worked at a volunteer center for a couple of years in an 'underpriveleged' neighborhood fresh out of college, his first steps to building his politico resume. But after squinting and looking twice, I couldn't quite recognize this area as a typical, representative tough and 'underpriveleged' neighborhood of the city -- and no, this is not a question of urban renewal...When Croft asked him about living on the south side, Obama provided two "life experience" responses: "the barbershop" and "playing basketball", both stereotypes...were not the two BARBERSHOP movies all about inner city life on the south side of Chicago? Never mind the basketball reference, but somehow, after the first two minutes of this interview, I could not help but envision Barack more at home holding a polo mallet than a basketball.
On this note, I should first explain that I know something about Chicago, being a lifelong resident until I left home for college -- I was born on the south side of Chicago and lived where Barack now lives with his wife, Michelle and their two children, in the upscale, ivy laced Hyde Park neighborhood, home to the University of Chicago which happens to be surrounded by ghetto. Michelle, also a Harvard graduate, now works at the University of Chicago in hospital administration. Since my family's ties of over 150 years go back to my hometown where my grandfather owned over half of it in commercial real estate, I got to know the neighborhoods. Didn't look the projects to me. And for that matter, the 60 minutes production team looked like they actually cleared out any signs of life (note: no cars or people walking around), nor did the director arrange for Barack to knock on any doors and say "hello" to any of the inhabitants -- you know, something like "Hey man, it's me, Barack Obama. Remember when your son and I used to go shoot hoops?" This was supposed to be a "c'mon, let me show you around and revisit the old tough Chicago home digs where I learned the inner city ropes", right? Why not put some validation 'face time' in here, for Godsake?
The point here is that, from the onset of the interivew, Obama conveyed a relaxed, while opportunistic, most assuredly smug and almost arrogant demeanor that well, revealed much about the 'real' black Obama in his heart and how much he seems to have never known by way of experience what so many African Americans have struggled with. And that the reality, is that some continue to encounter the struggle in their ordinary, non insulated lives; minority lives led with all the insecurity, fear and doubt that only the impoverished and marginalized, proudly yet fully aware in their hearts that when they can't afford the next rent check or they are passed over due to job discrimination and when they "can't get a cab because of their skin color "or "the woman on the elevator clutches her purse a little tighter when you get on" and the bottle has sucked your father's last breath and his dignity along with it in the face of an infinite spiral of downward challenges...
After watching this interview with Barack Obama, I just don't believe that he shares the same unrarified air as the vast majority of struggling poor and middle class Americans, black and white, who would, I truly believe, be ready for a black president, but just not Barack. Al Sharpton, anyone? Jesse Jackson? These two 'do humility' with passion and conviction, the glaring characteristic that Obama lacks.
Easy lifestyle? A picture is worth a thousand words, and while watching the interview I couldn't help but notice the body language between Barack and his wife. Whatsmore, Michelle looks like she wears the pants in that family and crisply packs him up each day -- from picking up his underwear to monitoring his anti-smoking campaign, the skids are greased for this Golden Boy from Hawaii (seriously, the surfer-dude came through in this interview) to gingerly albeit cautiously test his political mettle during this unarguably pivotal moment in history where a black man, however unsoulful, has risen to the challenge. Maybe it's just me; maybe I can't get past the old sterotype that a black candidate has got to be 'soulful' in order for me to take a closer look.
But on second thought, I know in my heart that being born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, I know something about the soulful people there, white and black, and most important, that being soulful is a state of mind that one develops through a lifetime of compassion and shared experience with people through music, the arts, acceptance and hard knocks.
My impression of Barack is that his hard knocks amounted to little more than butting up against a surfboard in a swell and that the only 'surge' he has mastered in his life is in the vanity of counting his rising polling numbers.
-2Truthy

Cronkite: Quest For Profits Crippling Media Companies?

"I Am Your Father." -Darth Vader
Question: What Does Big Media Do With All Of Its Windfall Profits?
No matter who triumphs in the bid for the presidency in 2008, Media outlets stand to haul in record amounts of campaign dollars, most of it on television advertising. So much capital spent on getting to the capitol, while the corrosion of the democratic government turns public officials into the 'intimate' servants of influential financiers.
But in a keynote address at Columbia University earlier this week, Walter Cronkite said
"today's journalists face greater challenges than those from his generation. No longer could journalists count on their employers to provide the necessary resources, he said, ``to expose truths that powerful politicians and special interests often did not want exposed.''Instead, he said, ``they face rounds and rounds of job cuts and cost cuts that require them to do ever more with ever less.''
Big Media consolidation, as Cronkite explained, has "left us with a sound bite culture that turns political campaigns into political theater.'' Hmm. And BAD theatre, at that. Much in the same way as the lousy Star Wars and Rocky movie sequels degenerate with each iteration, so goes it with each presidential election season: the cost for buying off politicians goes up and up and Big Media stands to gain windfall profits by collecting record amounts of cash and cutting jobs.
So where the hell are all of Big Media's windfall profits going? Big Media and High Tech are in the same league when it comes to putting the squeeze on America's educated, white collar middle class, and yet, that quiet compliance goes gentle into that good night of docility where I see too few, if any, candidates dare to tread. This might well have less to do with a lack of political will on behalf of a candidate and more to do with the pronounced lack of tough movement from the vast majority of millions of middle class citizens who have failed to register their collective voice on this issue. At least guys like Andy Stern are making inroads in the area of healthcare, as demonstrated in his latest alliance with unlikely bedfellow, Walmart, to work to provide healthcare for its workers by 2012. Good PR, at least for now.
But why not now? 2012 is a long way off.
Like I say, global warming is the hotbutton cultural issue that is unifying voters right now, but America's middle class doesn't have thirty more years while greedy corporations sell off our jobs to cheap foreign labor and create the caste system that smug elitists seem to enjoy.
But then again, nobody will know about it anyway -- the middle class demise --- because Big Media will have already pulled the plug by then, when our cinema entertainment will have become reduced to Star Wars VIII reruns...
-2Truthy

Will Obama Swab The Poopdeck?

"Sometimes you have to trim your sails." -Barack Obama

When does David Sirota ever sleep? I remember reading his exceptional, as always, revealing Nation piece last summer about Barack Obama, where he described

http://davidsirota.com/index.php/mr-obama-goes-to-washington/

'God' calling him on his cellphone -- LOL!

If Obama is the voice of God on cellphones, then Sirota is the God of progressive journalism. In today's HuffPo, David offers another excellent post entitled "I Want To Believe", that further explores Barack's intentions on the heels of the fine Obama portrait he portrayed so well in his assessment of Barack Obama in the earlier the Nation piece above

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-sirota/i-want-to-believe_b_40901.html

especially where he included his explanation about Obama's vote on the class action bill and then Obama's quote

"sometimes you have to trim your sails."

Barack the sailor man? As I see it, even 'God' can be seduced by lobbyists, and no amount of Dramamine or rum is going to knock the wind out of this guy's sails once his campaign leaves the dock. But I have my doubts about his direction.

Gibson interviewed Barack and Hillary a couple of weeks ago on healthcare and, while Hillary smoothly rattled off a complicated, thumbnail sketch of a plan that would basically favor corporations and insurance companies and screw the average consumer (think over 47 million uninsured), Barack clearly, did not know what he was talking about -- with the possible exception of knowing that he didn't want to say anything that would piss off the insurance lobby.

Obama's powerful voice and commanding presence have a mesmerizing quality, and that is what is scary about Obama: his handlers could have him say just about ANYTHING and people would follow his direction like converts at a Baptist revival. Like most politicians who, after earning or falling into enough money to not have to worry about retirement, Barack has unfortunately demonstrated the art of 'appeasement first' politics, which, at this juncture in our broken government, is not the kind of president this country needs to lead us out of this vicious cycle of corruption, greed and war.

I want to believe that this 'appeasement first' tack is a clever way to lower the boom on the culture of corporate corruption should he make it to the White House.

-2Truthy


Arianna Huffington to Hire Blog Intern


FROM THE DESK OF QUINCY
Dear Ms. Arianna Huffington,

It's me, QUINCY.

I am responding to your advertisement for the BLOG INTERN http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jobs/
As you may already know, 2Truthy adopted me a few months ago as my parents were addicted to internet gambling and I became a ward of the state. It was a blessing in disguise, because, as a result, I have amassed more intel about politics and the entertainment industry than you might imagine for one humble domestic pet and barnyard animal with an IQ of 172...

My many superlative JOURNALISTIC skills include, among other things, touch typing, answering multi-line phones, balancing and serving coffee on my snout, insulting offensive entertainment, editorial and investment poseurs who dress up in sheep's clothing (believe me, I can smell them a MILE away), and in discretely keeping all other nuisance bearing blogger SOBs at bay. My references are of the finest caliber, bar none (available upon request.)

In addition, I am fluent in four languages besides English which include French, German, Spanish and Farsi and am available to handle high-level translations between any troll or mole or online blowhard as needed. I am not, however, available to start until late February as 2Truthy is taking me to Whistler for the annual family ski-trip -- so would that still be OK?

Also, your ad did not disclose the salary or the perks...Did I mention that I am only interested in the PAID position?

Please send all confidential inquiries to 2Truthy's email address below as I still don't have my own email account yet due to my recent move. Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to hearing from you.

I can't wait to become your NEW BLOG INTERN!

Sincerely,

QUINCY
Los Altos, CA

Bush Takes Aim At Public Broadcasting: AGAIN!



The Pundit Connection
Lyrics by 2Truthy




SING ALONG, EVERYBODY!
Many of you will recall that this entertaining little post you are reading right now was originally posted back in June, 2006.

Back then, it was originally titled "The Asshole Connection", with reference to Big Media always cramming faux news (think Fox, Russert, etc.) down our throats with their stacked lineup of talking heads and guest "pundits." Disclaimer: these two pictured above have nothing to do (as far as I know) with Bush trying - yes AGAIN -- to slash funding for NPR and PBS. This week, Bush proposed a new budget with devastating cuts to public broadcasting. "Sesame Street" and other ad-free kids' shows are under the knife. Again. So is the independent journalism our country needs. But the main impetus for this post is to hold out hope against hope that these "pundits" - (can you guess which one has a line to Bush?) will find Jesus and use their talking head celebrity to make some real goddamned change for the better around the beltway so that the KIDS can watch fucking Sesame Street.






The Pundit Connection
Why are there so many songs about pundits
And what's on the other side?
We're just cute puppets they call us the Muppets
We're against an act cruel and snide.
So we've been told that the House wants to sack us
It's up to you kids -- set us free!
Go to your mommies and daddies and tell them
to get money for CPB. (Corporation for Public Broadcasting).

Who said that everyone could afford cable TV
When they don't even have a car?
Some live in trash cans while others eat gourmet hams
Do they know how lucky they are?
What's so important that makes that Pat Harrison
Want to take us off the TV?
I'm really pissed off, at all of the whack-offs,
The meannies, the smug and Cheney.

All of us under their spell,
We know it's both Texas and Hell...

Have you seen Mary Matalin
And have you seen Carvillle?
They're always gnarling like hounds.

Is this the dark sound that calls old Lex Luthor
To deep six us into the ground?
Those two get airplay about their bad hair days
It's something that's not supposed to be.
When will good things matter, above all the chatter
Of meannies, the smug and Cheney.
La, la la, La, la la la, La Laa, la la, La, La la laaaaaaa


My name is Kermit not Dylan McDermott
I'm not as good looking a star...
Is this why Pat Harrison made this unfair comparison
that's what it looks like, so far.
But she and others just like her with money
so much of it we'll never see
How about they all pay to keep us on one more day
The meannies, the smug and Cheney.

-2Truthy


GOP Takes Aim At Public Broadcasting - The Boston Globe

http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=11508

http://www.pbs.org/readytolearn/

special thanks to strangecosmos.com