Archive for the Journalism Category

Judicial Activism: Rogue Republican Judges (January 28, 2013)

Posted in Congress, Constitution, Courts, Journalism, Judges, Law, Newspapers, Presidency on January 28, 2013 by e-commentary.org

. . .

1          “I can’t say that I like it.”

2          “Me neither.  Smells bad.”

1          “Why is it that the first thing you recognize is that three Republican federal judges concocted the decision.”

2          “Because that is what Republican federal judges do.”

1          “Congress is dysfunctional and inoperative.  The President tries to do something rational consistent with limited Congressional action.  The Republican federal judges in the judicial branch step in and do their part to pummel and constrain the President and the executive branch.”

2          “Congress established the agencies and Congress authorized the funds and Congress appropriated the dollars and then a minority in Congress plays games to keep the President’s appointments from getting in the saddle to run the Congressionally-approved and authorized and appropriated agencies.”

1          “And undermine the actions of the agencies.”

2          “The Republican federal judges take up the ball and undercut the President and the operation of executive branch agencies by proclaiming that the President is playing games.”

1          “Sort of a new take on the old rope-a-dope one–two punch.  Not pretty.”

. . .

1/2       “Courts are increasingly illegitimate, partisan and dishonest.  The day may come when they may need to be disregarded.”

. . .  

2/1       “Journalists typically note the political party and state of a legislator at the first mention of her or his name in an article.  ‘Congressman Billy Bob Jenkins (R-Uranus).’  Articles about court decisions may refer to the politician who appointed the judge in the last few sentences and thus the insight is often among the first sentences to be edited.  In the interests of full disclosure and recognizing that space is always at a premium, articles should note the President who appointed a federal judge in parens at the first reference to a judge or justice.  ‘Chief Justice John Roberts (Bush II)’.”  

. . .

[See the editorial at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/26/opinion/a-court-upholds-republican-chicanery.html?hpwand and the article linked in the piece.]

Bumper stickers of the week:

There is no law; there is only ideology.

Don’t believe anything until it has been officially denied.

Sports Writers: 1 – 0 (January 14, 2013)

Posted in Awards / Incentives, Courts, Economics Nobel, Federal Reserve, Guns, Journalism, Law, Newspapers, Perjury, Perjury/Dishonesty, Sports, Taxation on January 14, 2013 by e-commentary.org

. . .

A          “A mixed group of informed individuals acting individually issued a profound collective indictment.”

1          “In court, the government only determines whether a person is guilty or not guilty, a court does not determine whether a person is innocent.  Yet when you look carefully, far too many courts have found far too many innocent individuals to be guilty.”

A          “Still not a great idea to be Black or Brown and get mixed up in the American judicial system.”

1          “It is to be eschewed.  The government is not and should not be allowed to deprive someone of his or her liberty without proof beyond a reasonable doubt.  The court of public opinion does not need to meet that high threshold when considering those who play on the court or field or pitch.”

A          “The sports writers are akin to an informed group of jurors from all ages, albeit a little older, and backgrounds, albeit a shade White, and world views from different parts of the country.”

1          “On the uniforms, they sport the initials MLB not MDL – the Major Dopers League.”

A          “They can get their own hall of fame, the Hall of Shame.”

1          “I might waive the character requirement and support a scoundrel if he played clean against others who played clean.”

A          “They may also be atoning for the great oversight in the late 1990s when any honest person realized that the guys were juiced and few said anything.  Finding the individual who was not juiced or was not juiced much will be a challenge.  The brush could be too broadly brushed.”           

1          “This is a promising start.  Now if we can get the Norwegian suits to follow suit and not award the Nobel in e-con-omics unless they award it to someone who understands eco-nomics.”

A          “Everyone from Roberts on the Supreme Court to players on the courts succeeds by lyin’ and cheatin’.”

1          “He’s a lawyer-type.  He said that he would call balls and strikes, but keep this in mind.  He never ever said that he would call a ‘ball’ a ‘ball’ only that he would call balls and strikes.”

A          “He and Alito and Thomas and Scalia are having a ball.”

1          “Dishonesty and hypocrisy are so American.”

A          “So human really.  We don’t have a monopoly on it.”

. . .

[See http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/17/opinion/australia-banned-assault-weapons-america-can-too.html?hp for some international perspective on gun restrictions.]

[See the “e-ssay” titled “Why Johnny And Roger? (April 30, 2012)” and the recent article on the deliberations of the Federal Reserve at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/03/opinion/the-new-tell-all-fed.html?hp&_r=1& and the “e-ssay” at The Kids (At The Fed) Are Not Alright (January 30, 2012).]

Bumper sticker of the week:

Play ball!

Centrist-Conservative Beats Corporatist-Culture Warrior (November 12, 2012)

Posted in Blue States / Red States, China, Elections, Iran, Journalism, Newspapers, O'Bama, Political Parties, Presidency, Press/Media, Romney, Russia, Southern Strategy, Spending on November 12, 2012 by e-commentary.org

. . .

C1        “Or should the headline read ‘Black And Browns Outwit Whites And Green (Paper).’”

C2       “Or ‘Ascetic Triumphs Over Bully.’  The election was a ‘campaign’ conducted in ‘battleground’ states by ‘operatives’ operating in a ‘war room’ who unwittingly are continuing to prosecute the ‘Great American Civil War.’”

C1        “The ‘Republican Southern Strategy’ is the ‘Republican National Strategy’, yet the Republicans were not able to conquer more than the ‘Contemporary Confederacy.’”

C2       “For two score or perhaps two score and four years since Nixon patented the policy, the ‘Southern Strategy’ was the go to play in the Republican playbook but may now need to be revisited.”

C1        “America is divided between the ‘Educated States’ that vote Blue and the ‘Uneducated States’ that vote Red.  States such as Massachusetts, Maryland, Colorado, Connecticut, Vermont, New Jersey, Virginia, New Hampshire, New York and Minnesota are the ‘Educated States’ that vote Blue.  States such as West Virginia, Mississippi, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Alabama, Nevada, Indiana, Tennessee and Oklahoma are the ‘Uneducated States’ that vote Red.  Those who are less educated are motivated by and respond to fear.”

C2       “Nevada is the only exception in that group.  The citizens may not sport as much formal education, but Nevadans are a spunky group of transplants.”

C1        “And O’Bama and Reid also ran a great ground game in Nevada and in all the other battleground states.”

C2       “The residents of the upper Midwestern states such as Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan, Illinois and the pivotal Ohio do not sport as many sheep skins, but they exercise horse sense in abundance.”

C1        “Wherever you find oil and gas, you find racism and corruption.  Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, North Dakota and Alaska.  With the discovery of oil, Alaska transitioned from Minnesota to Mississippi.  Astute pollsters note that these states tend to vote Red.  And then along comes North Dakota that elects to elect Heidi Heitkamp as a Senator.  Dead dinosaurs are destiny.”

C2       “Demographics are destiny.  Demo-graphics versus Republica-graphics.  And the outcome is graphic.  The Last Great White Hope is hopeless.  The rich White boys who want power are facing a reality that even the Red States are becoming Browner and Blacker.”

C1        “A strategic planner who seeks to locate a business that exploits the workers and despoils the land migrates to a Red State.  An enterprise that requires an educated populace searching for a sustainable quality of life migrates to a Blue State.  There are exceptions in pockets like Austin and a thousand other havens and oases, yet the general rule is true.”

C2       “Virginia’s senatorial contest between the Klan and Confederate Party candidate George Allen and the Centrist Party candidate Tim Kaine reveals the schism in many states that are described as Purple.  North Virginia went with Kaine and South Virginia went with Allen in a state where there are now more North Virginians than South Virginians.”

C1        “The educated electorate in North Carolina did not do it this year because it is so desperately small.  Curious that Bank of America’s decision to locate in Charlotte years before the 2008 election may have provided enough additional voters to provide the margin for O’Bama in the state in 2008 but not in 2012.”

C2       “South Florida is populated by transplanted Northerners who voted for O’Bama and North Florida is an appendage of Georgia and voted for Romney, but there are more Northern voters in South Florida than South voters in North Florida.”

C1        “And a few Browns.”

C2       “And a few Browns.  In an election that looked like it would be bought by a few faceless billionaires showering money from above and using Anger Mongering radio, billions of ordinary citizens on the ground really did made the difference for O’Bama.”

C1        “And two candidates shot themselves in the foot and then put the foot in their mouths and proclaimed that rape is akin to a sprained ankle or a trick knee.  New Hampshire was in play until Tuesday night and after the smoke and mirrors cleared on Wednesday morning, the smarter gender is in control in the first all-women delegation.  And the neighboring Bay Staters are banking on Elizabeth Warren.”

C2       “Brown did not do well in Massachusetts.  Tammy Baldwin, an openly gay female Senator-elect from Wisconsin, and Krysten Sinema, an openly bisexual Representative-elect from Arizona of all places, were not the pick of the billionaires.”

C1        “Tammy Duckworth, a wounded veteran from Illinois, finally made it.  Unfortunate that Pete Stark, the lone atheist, lost his seat.” 

C2       “The first Hindu member of Congress, Tulsi Gabbard, and a combat veteran.”

C1        “With Pete Stark gone, someone else must take up the Carbon Tax effort.  God voted under the name ‘Sandy’ as a single issue voter this year.”

C2       “Without showing any photo id.  The place is going to look like America.  Blue States such as Washington and Colorado have declared peace in the war on drugs and legalized the recreational use of marijuana.  Chalk up another win for freedom and liberty.”

C1        “And Washington, Maine and Maryland now allow an individual to decide if he or she wants to get married.”

C2       “Another win for freedom and liberty.  And Minnesota voters rejected a proposed constitutional amendment to ban marriage equality.”

C1        “Washington state is awfully pushy.  All the talented folks will migrate there.”

C2       “When the Nobel Committee signals that it will reward the conclusion, someone will connect the dots between freedom and liberty in a state and clean and green growth and development.  The Blue States vote for freedom and liberty.”

C1        “In 2004, O’Bama came to national attention aspiring for one United States of America, but only a little more than half of America will ever give him a chance.”

C2       “And now that petty pernicious pol Mitch McConnell is committed to making O’Bama a two-term President.”

C1        “We are the Red States of America and the Blue States of America.  There is no shame in candid self-awareness.” 

C2       “And yet the two countries confront many common concerns.  Iran is still Iran, China is still China, Russia is still Russia, and the fiscal fiasco is straight out of Wile E. Coyote.”

C1        “Europe may implode; the Middle East may explode.  Someone may want to take a look at the numbers that underpin entitlements and unnecessary defense/offense spending.  They still don’t add up.”

C2       “For decades, the Blue States have subsidized the Red States, yet we may see Illinois, California and/or New York, three small Blue countries in America, in need of major subsidies.”

C1        “Someone will say something about immigration.”  

. . .

[See the “e-ssay” titled America Recycles Day, November 15 (November 15, 2010).]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Women are people too.

The odds for the election of the first gay Buddhist Brown woman to the White House should be available soon.

George Will:             Romney:         331;    Obama:        217

Michael Barone:      Romney:          315;    Obama:        223

Glenn Beck:               Romney:          321;    Obama:        217

Dick Morris:              Romney:          325

Carl Rove:                   Romney:          279

“I have been assured that everything is in place for a Romney sweep of the Electoral College and the popular vote.  Talk is cheap.  Are you man enough to put your money where your mouth is.  $100 that Romney takes it.”  “I don’t have any assurances.  There is $1000 where my mouth is.  If you are man enough.” 

“I have been assured that everything is in place for a Romney sweep of the Electoral College and the popular vote.  Talk is cheap.  Are you man enough to put your money where your mouth is.  $100 that Romney takes it.”  “I don’t have any assurances.  There is $1000 where my mouth is.  If you are man enough.” 

Money “In The Bank” Or “Under The Mattress” (October 8, 2012)

Posted in "Fiat ______", Economics, Gold Standard, Hyperdive Economic Collapse, Journalism, Newspapers on October 8, 2012 by e-commentary.org

. . .

$          “They say that something is ‘money in the bank’ if it is a sure thing, but you must wonder whether ‘money in the bank’ is really ‘money in the bank.’”

C          “Or money in the credit union.  The Federal Reserve can create electrons but it cannot quickly create hard dollars.  The time will come when enough citizens simultaneously conclude that the financial system is a rigged chimera with a false facade.”

$          “Like the week of September 15, 2008.”

C          “Exactly.  With so few physical dollars in the bank to respond to demands for dollars, a financial institution will need to limit withdrawals to a small sum per depositor, perhaps $100.  Assurances that the funds are insured will not be reassuring.  The typical depositor does not want to hear that the account is insured when he or she wants to withdraw money from the account.  That event either will be the Big Jolt or will be caused by the Big Jolt that will lead to a collective loss of faith.”

$          “The news outlets will be forced to take a short break from the stories about rescuing kittens from trees to relay stories of angry depositors.”  

C          “And the populace will come to realize that money does not grow on trees.  So your money is only money in the bank if it is under your mattress.”

$          “The alternative is to leave the money in the bank and get .0000001 percent interest on the funds that you may never see again.”

C          “Seems that a few dollars in the pocket are not a bad idea.  After a Big Jolt, inertia and habit will incline others to accept dollars in the transition for some time.”

$          “Both paper dollars and gold may lose their luster at the same time.  The stuff does not offer much heat whether measured by calories or B.T.U.s.”

 . . .

[See the “e-ssays” titled “Is The Gold Standard Really The Gold Standard? (January 18, 2010)” and “Fiat Gold” / Fool’s Gold (May 2, 2011).]

Bumper stickers of the week:

“I will use my Fe [guns] and my Pb [bullets] to protect my Au and my ETOH.”

“I will use my skills and resources to develop a sustainable supply of clean H2O and to provide enough cals. [heat inside the body] and B.T.U.s [heat outside the body] to sustain me, my family and my community.” 

Excellence In Journalism? Time For A True Trophy (September 24, 2012)

Posted in Awards / Incentives, English Language, Facebook, Google, Journalism, Language, Newspapers, Press/Media, Writing on September 27, 2012 by e-commentary.org

. . .

J1          “Awards shape behavior.”

J2          “The palette of Pulitzers runs the spectrum from purple prose to yellow journalism.”

J1          “And the Pulitzers for black and white journalism run the route from The New York Times group of writers to The Washington Post Writers Group, with a few side shows.  The trophy could be transported on the Eastern Airlines shuttle between the New York and Washington airports named for political types, with a few side trips.”

J2          “I concede that the Pulitzers generally reward solid work, yet they only consider conventional and narrowly defined writing drawn from an exclusive clique of writers.”

J1          “They are an exclusive group because they exclude not because of excellence.  Then the Online News Association Awards emerged to emphasize ‘high-tech bells and whistles’ rather than quality and integrity.  The corporate sponsors call the shots.  The Googles and the Facebooks buy the beer and balloons and make the party possible.  Gobs of gaudy high-tech gadgets on a screen define journalism.”

J2          “But in the end that is what the readership wants.  Journalists cannot lose sight of the legitimate needs and concerns of the reader.  We need to sell the product without selling out.” 

J1          “Journalism needs a new way of thinking and a new award.  Awards shape behavior.”

. . .

[J1 = Journalist 1; J2 = . . . ]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Here today, gone today

Where’s the tofu?

Too much sizzle, not enough tofu

SCOTUS on TV: “They Might Not Be Such Bastards” (March 26, 2012)

Posted in Constitution, Courts, Health Care, Journalism, Judges, Judicial Arrogance, Newspapers, O'Bama, Supreme Court on March 26, 2012 by e-commentary.org

. . .

C1          “The Supremes are hearing oral argument on ‘Romney – O’Bama Care’ this week.  The Supremes get free health care for life and get to decide whether ordinary Americans get health care.  They don’t get it.”

C2          “Are they listening or just sitting there allowing the barristers to babble.  Thomas is asleep.”

C1          “Or are they just blow harding to hear themselves blow hard.   ‘Romney – O’Bama Care’ is about personal responsibility and now the blow hards are contending that it impinges on personal freedom.  Cameras in the court room would provide some insight.”

C2          “Everyone might play for the camera.”

C1          “The lawyers and the Justices.  They can be so churlish and childish.”

C2          “Or arrogant bastards.  I was in the lawyer’s line last December minding my own business and listening to the other conversations.  She observed that the cameras likely would change everyone’s behavior.  And she matter-of-factly observed that the cameras might make the Justices behave more civilly.  ‘They might not be such bastards,’ she opined politely.”

. . .

[See the “e-ssay” titled “Breaking News: Supreme Court Elects To Decide 2012 Presidential Election (January 16, 2012)”]

Bumper stickers of the week:

SCOTUS – The ultimate Reality Television?

Who owns the courts?

If you’re not an intellectual, at least be intellectually honest.

The Drums of War (February 20, 2012)

Posted in Afghanistan, Foreign Policy, Iran, Iraq, Journalism, Middle East, Newspapers, O'Bama, Press/Media on February 20, 2012 by e-commentary.org

. . .

+          “Can you hear the drums?”

–           “Loud and clear.  Five by Five.  I can smell them; I can feel them; I can taste them; I can see them.  Those who decide have decided to go to war with Iran.”

+          “I sense it too.  O’Bama’s comments before the Super Bowl were not reassuring.  Some of the militaristic rhetoric may be designed to force the players to reconsider diplomatic alternatives.  Von Clausewitz and all.  Most efforts appear to be directed at concocting a ruse or pretext or charade to go to war.”

–           “The only thing left to do is to fool the public.  That doesn’t even require creativity.  The American Empire is now committed to prosecuting two wars at all times.  We lost in Iraq, proclaimed victory and claimed to withdraw.  Now America has a free, but very expensive, pass to invade another country.”

+          “There really is no overriding strategy.  Imposing sanctions is the tactic to date.  The problem with sanctions is that a people may learn how to hunker down and live with them.  That which does not kill me and all.  And God bless the American public.  However, forty-five percent of the public will not even notice the different consonant.”

–           “The ‘Iraq, Iran, who cares, they are all towels’ mindset.  When the war starts, the most likely public reaction will be a quizzical look and a question asking whether we didn’t just leave there.”

+          “The group known as the Press does not seem as united in support of an attack as the gang was in early 2003.  Yet those calling for war are muting the few voices of dissent.  The drums are drowning out the guitars.”

–           “We just refuse to learn from our mistakes.  What if we decided to do something right and learn from our success?”

. . .

+          “Some say Falklands; some say Malvinas.”

–           “If you look at the map, you say Argentina.”

+          “If you wander around the Isla and talk to the folks, you say Britain.”

–           “Geographic location versus self-determination.  History seems to emerge historically and not logically.”

+          “History is like that.  So the only way to settle the matter is to embrace the time-honored tradition of killing batches of eighteen year olds.”

–           “Certainly trendy through the ages.  It is about sovereignty, yes, yet it is always about oil.”

+          “Perhaps they need to respect each country’s sovereignty and work on an arrangement to share the offshore resources in shared waters.”

–           “Deploying Billy was entirely ill-advised, provocative and unnecessary.  We just refuse to learn.”

+          “What if Billy had refused to deploy.”

. . .

Bumper stickers of the week:

No war, no sanctions, no intervention, no assassinations against Iran

I’m already against the next war

Jeremy Lin

Peaceful Presidents’ Day

The guitars of peace

Occupy America: The “Bonus March/Chicago Police Riot/Kent State” Of 2011? (October 17, 2011)

Posted in Banks and Banking System, Boycott Series, Economics, First Amendment, Journalism, Kleptocracy, Newspapers, Occupy Movement, Politics, Society on October 17, 2011 by e-commentary.org

. . .

a          “They will only tolerate it as long as they regard it as harmless.  When they regard it as a threat to their domination, they will do harm.”

A          “Another inevitable repeat of history.  But when the Chicago police rioted in ’68 outside the Democratic National Convention and beat and tear gassed the populace, at least they only used night sticks and tear gas as weapons.”

a          “There are videos you can download to your tube with a few clicks.  You can see that the police even beat the press.  Back then, the press got it and got in the way and got it from the police.”

A          “Today, the authorities are armed with far more dangerous armaments and arsenals.  Even toll booth operators and beach patrols sport their own SWAT (Special Weapons And Tactics) Teams equipped with grenade launchers and flame throwers.  In an old black and white tv show, Barney Fife, a deputy sheriff in a small North Carolina town, carried one bullet, probably a .38, in his shirt pocket and was required to ask Andy, the sheriff, before he could even chamber it.  Different times.”

a          “Not many police officers realize that the kids are trying to protect the police union while the governor is trying to kill it.  When the federal government begins providing Homeland Security grants to allow local libraries to acquire armed drones, will anyone care or comment.”

A          “Not to worry, they are closing the libraries.  It might be Oak Park, it might be Oakland, it might occur on some other park or land that will become part of our national lore.”

a          “Even if the kids keep their heads, the authorities are going to bust them.  The problem is that one person may make a threatening comment that will provide the police with a pretext.  An undercover police officer could make a threatening comment to one of his colleagues and provide the pretext for a police riot.”

A          “A few young Boomers got their heads busted and then when older busted a booming economy.  Now the Boomers will bust some concerned youngsters’ heads – the youngsters who must endure the long bust but will never experience a lingering boom.”

. . .

[See the “e-ssay” titled “Ohio – Not Forgettin’ Ohio; The Battleground State Battles On (May 2, 2005)” and the “e-ssay” titled “The Residue of Unrelenting Fear: PTSD Afflicts The Populace (August 28, 2006).”]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Do you want the kids to be activists or pacifists?

Occupy Mayberry, R.F.D.

Kids (and older kids) who know and care are doing something

The kids are alright

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” – John F. Kennedy

Occupy America (October 10, 2011)

Posted in Banks and Banking System, Boycott Series, Economics, First Amendment, Journalism, Kleptocracy, Newspapers, Occupy Movement, Politics, Society on October 10, 2011 by e-commentary.org

. . .

A         “Commentators are having a hard time because there isn’t one spokesperson to interview nor one manifesto to mine.”

a          “Most commentators don’t understand what has happened in America over the last decade, so I don’t expect them to understand what is going on today.  I am aware enough to know that something’s clearly wrong, yet it is hard to describe.  What I do know is that I don’t have a future.”

A         “It’s simple and obvious.  The ruling class is strip mining the middle class.  And then accusing those who dare to point out the obvious truth that the astute observer is instigating class warfare.”

a          “They are clearcutting the kids.  They are not allowing a college grad let alone the ordinary Joe to immanentize the eschaton, although they are immanentizing the eschaton in a big way at my expense.  I really don’t have much hope of improvement or advancement.”

A         “Listen carefully.  That may be the big difference this time – an underlying absence of hope and a more pronounced sense of desperation.” 

a          “Hope died a few years ago.  Hope is so 2008.  Yet what do you have if you don’t have hope.”

A         “When hope totally disappears, an individual who can’t take it often takes one of three paths.  At the extreme, he takes his life, takes someone else’s life, or takes someone else’s life and then takes his life.”

a          “Someone sure took the life of the American Dream.”

. . .

[See the “e-ssay” titled “Boycott Big Banks (February 1, 2010).”]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Occupy Wall Street; Occupy Our America

You don’t need a sportscaster to know which way the ball bounces.

Writing The Long Song (September 26, 2011)

Posted in Journalism, Language, Society, Writing on September 26, 2011 by e-commentary.org

. . .

2          “So you’re suggesting that Bill Shakespeare is sleeping off a bender on someone’s davenport.  We just need to give him a few more hours to resurface.”

1          “Bill is dead.  And alive.  In a way.  Mortal and immortal.  Not breathing but still singing.”

. . .

2          “So you say that a jour-nalist doesn’t quite achieve immortality, yet a jour-nalist adds, like, seven years to the actuarials.”

1          “As long as they don’t drink and smoke.  Jour-nalists contribute too.”

2          “Could they just drink or just smoke?  They are jour-nalists, they do need a smoke or an adult beverage or two.  Or at least a bad habit or two.”

. . .

2          “What if you write for a weekly or a monthly?  What if you are more than a jour-nalist yet less that a novelist?”

. . .

1          “The grim reaper has been on the back swing since we skidded across the maternity room floor.  Yet, the good song can reverberate long after we sign off and move on.”

. . .

Bumper stickers of the week:

“After publication of [Magnum Opus], [Celebrated Writer] achieved immortality for all time and died seventeen years later.”

“Unknown during his life, [Writer’s] three unpublished manuscripts found among his papers three years after his death establish his immortality among his peers.”

Mortality does stink; immortality would stink.