Howard Fineman appears to be reasonably intelligent and is good for political insight if you pull his chain -- and NBC does quite a bit of chain pulling when he's in the room. But the more I see him on the various talk shows and read his op-eds, the more I believe his function is to feed the discomfort level of enthusiasts.
Kill troop morale
A favorite tactic in any battle is to try to add to the discontent of the groundpounders on the other side. The purpose is, of course, is to weaken the position of the other side. But the battle's won, so what's Fineman trying to accomplish? To pour salt in wounds and watch them fester. To cause a reaction that will be heard around the world.
Being one of NBC's go-to guys for punditry is probably a pretty good way to get paying customers, but none of this advances political discourse. Fact-based analysis isn't supposed to inject emotion of itself, but to reflect the facts.
This adolescent tendency to want to be seen as the insider is sophomoric. Children like to say words that produce a "wow" from their audience. Makes them feel relevant, purposeful.
I wish Fineman and the rest of the beltway insiders would mature.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Immigration officials charge a Postville illegal
In this story, the DM Register says the Chief of Police of Postville claims his department doesn't routinely act as an immigration-enforcement arm because it can't afford the training, and that he wants immigrants to feel comfortable reporting crimes to his officers without fearing that they will be deported.
Well, actually, the police chief is referring to illegal immigrants, foreign nationals in this country without a visa or other authorization -- referred to as "illegal aliens". Let's be honest.
What if the chief had said his department doesn't go after shoplifters? And that he didn't want drug users to feel uncomfortable reporting other crimes for fear of arrest? That's an equivalent argument.
In the military, I believe we refer to this as "dereliction of duty", punishable by death in times of war.
Food for thought.
As I've always said, if the laws are wrong, then let's change them. If we can fairly increase the number of immigrants and successfully integrate them into our country, then let's up the numbers. But if we're being over-run by foreign nationals who have no intentions of assimilating, then we're being invaded and our pocketbooks are being raided -- and sworn officers of the law are accessories.
Well, actually, the police chief is referring to illegal immigrants, foreign nationals in this country without a visa or other authorization -- referred to as "illegal aliens". Let's be honest.
What if the chief had said his department doesn't go after shoplifters? And that he didn't want drug users to feel uncomfortable reporting other crimes for fear of arrest? That's an equivalent argument.
In the military, I believe we refer to this as "dereliction of duty", punishable by death in times of war.
Food for thought.
As I've always said, if the laws are wrong, then let's change them. If we can fairly increase the number of immigrants and successfully integrate them into our country, then let's up the numbers. But if we're being over-run by foreign nationals who have no intentions of assimilating, then we're being invaded and our pocketbooks are being raided -- and sworn officers of the law are accessories.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Des Moines Floods of 2008
Des Moines residents and officials brace for flooding, the likes of which have not been seen in 15 years -- and more, in some cases. This playlist as a day-by-day visual account of the flooding.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Allen Bishop show notes
The Allen Bishop Show
Monday, May 26, 2008 - Memorial Day
Misc
-----------------------------------------------
killer twisters rip through Oklohoma and Iowa this weekend.
Politics
-----------------------------------------------
You may remember I predicted Obama would claim victory as his party's presidential nomination. Well, he made the trip to Iowa last week to bring his nomination fight to, symbolically, do just that.
Defending staying in the race, Clinton brings up the June '68 RFK assasination in California. Media feeding frenzy ensues & predictions are that she spends the rest of her Presidential run on the defense. She has one hope left; that something terrible will happen to Obama before the convention.
Obama & McCain will exchange barbs through November. But neither have a sustainable healthcare plan, effective economic package or a realistic foreign policy.
Ron Paul nailed healthcare, saying we don't have free market medicine (or government medicine), but soft fascist or corporate healthcare -- which needs to change...like yesterday. Paul also understands the currency crisis; problems with fighting an undeclared war and he knows the constitution.
Bush Attack Dog Karl Rover had guts appearing on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos. He's accused in playing a role in Attorney-gate, the firing of select US Attorneys who didn't play ball with the White House, and dozens of other throat-cutting missions for the neo-cons. He's also accused of corruption in the railroading of Alabama Governor Don Siegelman. Now Fido (Rove) is under Congressional subpoena to appear on these matters, but he's hiding under executive privilege. Rove says the matter of subpoenas will be faught and decided in court. He says he heard about the Don Siegelman indictment, read about it, learned about it for the first time by reading about it in the newspaper.
Technology
-----------------------------------------------
VIACOM, YOUTUBE, FIGHTING
Why is it that you never see clips from MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount, Deamworks or shows like Comedy Central's The Daily Show? Little lawsuit between Google's YouTube and Viacom is most likely. To the tune of a Billion Dollars. Google said YouTube was faithful to the requirements of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, saying the federal law was intended to protect companies like YouTube as long as they responded properly to content owners' claims of infringement. Viacom said YouTube consistently allows unauthorized copies of popular television programming and movies to be posted on its Web site and viewed tens of thousands of times, that it identified more than 150,000 unauthorized clips of copyrighted programming — including "SpongeBob SquarePants," "South Park" and "MTV Unplugged" episodes and the documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" — that had been viewed "an astounding 1.5 billion times." And that only scratches the surface. And furthermore, Viacom says making available a vast library of the copyrighted works of plaintiffs and others is the cornerstone of defendants' business plan," Viacom said.
IPHONE GEOTAGGING IN NEW FIRMWARE
iPhone's newest firmware is expected to possess geo-tagging function. That is, adds location data to a photos & other media files. While a GPS receiver is not present in the current iPhone, it is expected to be part of an upcoming 3G iPhone. However, the current iPhone can approximate a user's location by triangulating with cell phone towers.
DIGITAL INDY
18 years have paassed since the last Indiana Jones movie. The first three were gritty, sweaty and tactile and everything onscreen physically existed. But Crystal Skull is mostly present in the digital realm.
Monday, May 26, 2008 - Memorial Day
Misc
-----------------------------------------------
killer twisters rip through Oklohoma and Iowa this weekend.
Politics
-----------------------------------------------
You may remember I predicted Obama would claim victory as his party's presidential nomination. Well, he made the trip to Iowa last week to bring his nomination fight to, symbolically, do just that.
Defending staying in the race, Clinton brings up the June '68 RFK assasination in California. Media feeding frenzy ensues & predictions are that she spends the rest of her Presidential run on the defense. She has one hope left; that something terrible will happen to Obama before the convention.
Obama & McCain will exchange barbs through November. But neither have a sustainable healthcare plan, effective economic package or a realistic foreign policy.
Ron Paul nailed healthcare, saying we don't have free market medicine (or government medicine), but soft fascist or corporate healthcare -- which needs to change...like yesterday. Paul also understands the currency crisis; problems with fighting an undeclared war and he knows the constitution.
Bush Attack Dog Karl Rover had guts appearing on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos. He's accused in playing a role in Attorney-gate, the firing of select US Attorneys who didn't play ball with the White House, and dozens of other throat-cutting missions for the neo-cons. He's also accused of corruption in the railroading of Alabama Governor Don Siegelman. Now Fido (Rove) is under Congressional subpoena to appear on these matters, but he's hiding under executive privilege. Rove says the matter of subpoenas will be faught and decided in court. He says he heard about the Don Siegelman indictment, read about it, learned about it for the first time by reading about it in the newspaper.
Technology
-----------------------------------------------
VIACOM, YOUTUBE, FIGHTING
Why is it that you never see clips from MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount, Deamworks or shows like Comedy Central's The Daily Show? Little lawsuit between Google's YouTube and Viacom is most likely. To the tune of a Billion Dollars. Google said YouTube was faithful to the requirements of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, saying the federal law was intended to protect companies like YouTube as long as they responded properly to content owners' claims of infringement. Viacom said YouTube consistently allows unauthorized copies of popular television programming and movies to be posted on its Web site and viewed tens of thousands of times, that it identified more than 150,000 unauthorized clips of copyrighted programming — including "SpongeBob SquarePants," "South Park" and "MTV Unplugged" episodes and the documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" — that had been viewed "an astounding 1.5 billion times." And that only scratches the surface. And furthermore, Viacom says making available a vast library of the copyrighted works of plaintiffs and others is the cornerstone of defendants' business plan," Viacom said.
IPHONE GEOTAGGING IN NEW FIRMWARE
iPhone's newest firmware is expected to possess geo-tagging function. That is, adds location data to a photos & other media files. While a GPS receiver is not present in the current iPhone, it is expected to be part of an upcoming 3G iPhone. However, the current iPhone can approximate a user's location by triangulating with cell phone towers.
DIGITAL INDY
18 years have paassed since the last Indiana Jones movie. The first three were gritty, sweaty and tactile and everything onscreen physically existed. But Crystal Skull is mostly present in the digital realm.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Exclusive footage of The Miz in Des Moines
The Miz came down the the KXnO Studios May 20, 2008, before his appearance at wells Fargo Arena. Contains exclusive footage of The Miz performing for our cameras as he left the building.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Bush rails on Obama
Bush says those who want to negotiate with terrorists are taking the false comfort of appeasement. Sen Joe Biden didn't care for that remark. He appeared on This Week telling George Stephanopuoulos "This is raw, raw politics, demeaning to the presidency of the United States of America".
Can Obama claim it yet?
ABC asks if Obama's delegate lead create an insurmountable problem for Clinton's campaign. That lead and powerful symbolism may provide Obama with an opportunity to claim victory this week over Clinton.
Kennedy seizure causes earthquake
Sen. Ted Kennedy is in the hospital after he had a seizure at his Cape Cod home Saturday. His condition is serious, but he's not in imminent danger. Doctors original thought he was having a stroke. By day's end, Kennedy was watching the Red Sox and joking with family members and friends who were summoned to the hospital. ABC reports the event sent an earthquake across the political world.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Colbie Caillat - Bubbly
Colbie Caillat performed at Capital 106.3 (KPTL-FM, Clear Channel Radio) "Studio C" in Des Moines, Iowa courtesy of Universal Music Group.
Colbie Caillat - Realize
Colbie Caillat performed at Capital 106.3 (KPTL-FM, Clear Channel Radio) "Studio C" in Des Moines, Iowa courtesy of Universal Music Group.
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