Tuesday, January 30, 2007

360 Degree Spin

So Fox News is taking shots at Anderson Cooper, calling him the Paris Hilton of T.V. news. What a shock. Long before Geraldo was playing in a sandbox giving out troop positions, Anderson Cooper was taking his own camera to war torn areas, putting his own life at risk to get real stories with no promise of reward.

But it's no suprise that Fox used this tactic, since it is the classic Right Wing move of accusing the enemy of what you yourself are guilty of before they have the chance to accuse you (like calling judges who refuse to put Christian values over the law of the land "activists" for example). The last time I remember seeing this was a clip of the aformentioned Jerry Rivers on Papa Bear Bill O'Reilly's show accusing John Stewart of "showing pictures of old ladies slipping on ice and laughing." Have we so soon forgotten Al Capone's vault or any of the other sensationalist "exposes" Rivera has put on in a desperate attempt to recapture the magic of the Willowbrook story, the one good story that made his career over thirty years ago?

In reality, Fox News is the Paris Hilton of T.V. news. Disgustingly rich, overexposed, inexplicably popular, and a public embarrassment.

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Nostradamus I'm Not

It occurs to me that the blogosphere is a great spot to make predictions. I've made some good ones in the past (gas prices are going down as a result of the current U.S. administration's collusion with oil manufacturers to make things look better during election season and will go back up as soon as the election is over) and not so good ones (in 1990 "Mark McGwire will one day be the all time home run king." Barry who?). In any case, it's time to get another one out there, for all to see.

Hillary Rodham Clinton is your 44th President of the United States.

Not such a bold prediction, you say? Well, while some agree that she is the Democratic front runner, you will find just as many if not more people who will tell you she is unelectable. Why? Three reasons: She is a woman. She is a Clinton. And she is a liberal.

To take these points one by one:

She is a woman. There are more women in this country than men, and they are allowed to vote. Some will argue that many women, especially conservative women, hate Hillary. Maybe. But maybe what they say when their authoritarian Republican husbands are around, and what they do behind the protective sheath of the voting booth are two different things entirely.

She is a Clinton. This is actually a huge asset. People quickly forget what a political juggernaut Bill Clinton is. The Clintons have been hanging back and saving their good ammo for the big fight, battling with their off hand up until now. The Clintons are smart, politically savvy, and can be quite charming (yes, Hillary too). When they get back on the big stage, they're going to make big trouble for any opposition.

She is a Liberal. Thanks to the current administration, terms like Conservative and Liberal have lost all their meaning. Certainly George W. Bush, who favors big businesses over small ones and government intervention in people's private affairs, is no conservative, and while wanting affordable health care for all citizens may be seen as the first step towards a Communist state by some, I'm betting a lot of others (sick, old, poor people for starters) think it's a pretty good idea.

There's a lot of talk about Barack Hussein Obama as a potential 2008 President. I think Obama's campaign does have a lot of potential: For 2016. An African American (not to mention one whose name bears uncomfortable similarities to our Mid East foes, just silly semantics of course, but don't imagine that matters to FOX News) with as little experience as Obama has in the big political arena just isn't ready for the Oval Office, no matter how eloquent he is.

In 2008, it's Hillary. You heard it here first.

Sunday, January 07, 2007