Several days back I mocked the fact that a recent visit to the White House by the collegiate female basketball championship team was not open to the press, but the White House itself produced an event segment. What's more disturbing is a seeming pattern by the Obama Administration to preselect interviewers, e.g., Nico Pitney from the Huffington Post (a well-known leftist portal) or preselected questions from Internet sources by the White House New Media Office resulted in a rare outburst by mainstream media (e.g., venerable Helen Thomas and CBS' Chip Reid) directed at White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, with Helen Thomas objecting to the White House "controlling the press", which she regarded as "really shocking", using the ultimate insult between liberals: even "Nixon didn’t try to do that"). The salient point brings me back to my college freshman English course and Marshall McLuhan's famous dictum: "The medium is the message."
Obama's reliance on and gaffes with using the new media have become so well documented that even Vice President Biden lampooned him when a teleprompter blew over during a speech in Colorado: "What am I gonna tell the president when I tell him his Teleprompter is broken? What will he do then?""
Almost all that we have coming out of the White House is political spin, and Obama has been playing word games, calling unrestrained Democratic spending sprees "investments", even inventing nonsensical new job statistics like "jobs saved"--where state/local bailouts under the so-called stimulus bill are described as virtuous by President Obama (which he demagogues as teachers in the classroom and cops on the beat) with a straight face while staring at a 9.5% unemployment rate, which already has outstripped what he promised to the American people to rise to a maximum less than that if they would only pass his stimulus bill as soon as possible with almost no debate... Oh, and by the way, how much of that $787B package has been spent almost 6 months later? The last percentage I heard was about 5%... Already the Dems are murmuring about trying to pass a second stimulus package (and the third in 2 years). Do these people have any shame?
As for liberal journalists like Helen Thomas being befuddled over the press being controlled by the Obama Administration: you have to wonder why it took so long for them to realize they were being played.... One good thing about this situation is the growing recognition that Obama honeymoon is finally over.
The Sarah Palin Show
I'm somewhat amused at how Sarah Palin's fans are trying to spin her resignation as governor in the middle of her term as crazy like a fox (e.g., Roger Stone). I, for one, am tired of Sarah Palin constantly griping about double standards. What I find profoundly un-American are conservatives whom refuse to allow legitimate criticisms of Sarah Palin and constantly provide excuses for her polarizing politics, unsatisfactory performance during the campaign and lack of judgement. Let's briefly remember the kerfuffle over David Letterman's Alex Rodriguez joke which Sarah knowingly and falsely accusing Letterman of directing at her barely teenage daughter Willow. (I have definitively debunked that allegation in prior posts.) She directly accused David Letterman of being a sexual pervert and said she wouldn't trust David Letterman being in the same room with Willow. A public official cannot be that thin-skinned, and we expect a proportionate response to the provocation. Letterman simply made a joke in questionable taste; Sarah Palin was out for David Letterman's head.
Ronald Kessler, who has written posts in favor of Sarah Palin, wrote a recent Newsmax column entitled "Sarah Palin Has Lost Her Nerve." One incident in that column stands out. He writes about an Alaskan bipartisan legislative group having a retreat (this year) and inviting Sarah Palin. The friendly Senate President, Republican Gary Stevens, invited Governor Sarah Palin to talk about some of her plans and proposals for the upcoming session. Palin reportedly responded, "I feel like you guys are always trying to put me on the spot." Quite frankly, this is off-the-chart, full-blown paranoia. Why would any executive want to attend a meeting with key legislators? To get support for her own initiatives. They give her a platform to outline her agenda, and she considers it a personal attack?
There's all this stuff about being cleared by ethics complaints. Now, as a prelude to discussion, I once worked for a couple of companies which were management consulting offshoots of accounting firms. Even though I never had any contact with any auditor or the clients in question, I had to report any and all transactions relevant to any client to which I had any kind of financial relationship (e.g., buying or selling stock). It was tedious work identifying any relevant transactions. I had a graduate traditional auditing course (not EDP audits--the same course Master's students pursuing their CPA took). It's not just whether you have actual financial interest in a client: you must avoid the appearance of the same.
One of the complaints is the fact that Governor Palin wore a jacket with a certain snowmachine's brand on it at a public event. There was a reasonably legitimate question over whether the appearance of whether there was a conflict of interest, that the state was implicitly endorsing a particular commercial product. The investigation mostly looked at whether the Palins got money for wearing the jacket. That's not really the point.
There's much speculation, including rumors that Palin might be getting a lucrative TV talk show deal (maybe similar to Fox News' deal with Mike Huckabee). Remember the kerfuffle during the campaign where Oprah refused to invite Palin? (No doubt she was worried about the effect on her endorsement of Obama.) Well, I seriously doubt we are going to see Palin become the conservative Oprah. I seriously don't think people will come to Anchorage to be in the studio audience as she dishes the latest moose chili recipe or 101 things to do with Omega-3 wild Alaskan salmon, audience members competing with Sarah Palin shooting at paper targets, etc. Or hearing Todd explain what the slogan "drill, baby, drill" really means...
My Favorite New Song: American Heart by Jon David
I came across a clip of this song while listening to a podcast by Dennis Miller Show guest host Andrew Breitbart, son-in-law to actor Orson Bean and a key Hollywood center-right blogger; I encourage readers to visit Andrew's website (http://bighollywood.breitbart.com). There are a couple of decent Youtube videos for the song, one of which is embedded below.
I, for one, am sick and tired of our American President whom seems to have a pathological, scrupulous need to confess (without the use of waterboarding) alleged American sins in foreign appearances, including without provocation criticizing his predecessor. This song speaks to me and captures the essence of the American spirit, in a country-rock performance and arrangement I find evocative of a good Jackson Browne or John Mellencamp song. For a somewhat humorous story motivating the writing of the song (along with the lyrics reprinted below), see Jon David's account of going to a party in Venice, California as a favor for a female friend (whom was trying to impress another guy at the party). The liberal date's roommate quickly spotted him at the party and decides to "educate" Jon David on why she doesn't like her own country. (How do you identify all the center-right people in Venice? He's the only guy wearing a button down shirt.)
American Heart
written by Jon David c&p: J.David 2009
They say
Our reputation
Needs a new coat of paint and a delicate melody
But I say
I like the bruises
And a melody don’t mean a thing
If we don’t have the strength to sing
I won’t be made to ever feel ashamed…
…that I’m American made
I got American parts
Got American faith
In America’s heart
Go on raise the flag
I got stars in my eyes
I’m in love with her
And I won’t apologize
They say
That we need changin’
As if all the Founding Fathers seem to get it wrong
But I say
I still believe in
the greatest Liberator, Innovator, Cultivator
Freedom’s ever known
So I suggest you take a look inside
I think you changed already
You went and lost your pride
But I’m American made
I got American parts
Got American faith
In America’s heart
Go on raise the flag
I got stars in my eyes
I’m in love with her
And I won’t apologize
Dress her up so that you don’t recognize her
She’ll still be there if you wake up in the night
‘Cause a mother can always find her child
Even when that child don’t know he’s lost
I’m American made
I got American parts
Got American faith
In America’s heart
Go on raise the flag
I got stars in my eyes
I’m in love with her
And I won’t apologize
I’m in love with her
And I won’t apologize
I’m in love with her
And I won’t apologize
