Ah, the internet and streaming video! You can selectively watch portions of the convention without stumbling over the vapid ramblings of Soledad O’Brien, or worse, Amy Holmes. So far, the best sight for this is Crooks and Liars which has included most of the major speeches so far, unedited and in their entirety. Even MSNBC, the slightly off-center cable outlet that occasionally offers something that is not utterly predictable, has imploded into a testy redux of the Battling Bickersons.
That aside, what happened to the DOA story line that the Clinton’s were in Denver merely to sabotage Obama’s big moment, even possibly to steal the nomination? What I witnessed were 2 crafty, articulate politicians rallying the throng behind their candidate without the slightest hint of bitterness or condescension. Well, when the MSM invents a story line, they stick to it. Latest variation is that, so far, the convention has been all about the Clinton’s ! No s**t? Possibly because the a**holes in the press couldn’t talk about anything other than the Clinton’s for a week leading up to the convention? Or possibly because a former 2-term President and a former 2-term First Lady, U.S. Senator, and Democratic primary runner-up were giving prime-time speaking slots????
Speaking of Hillary, I thought her speech was terrific. Seriously. I mean, it was only a speechafter all, the purpose of which was to connect to rank-and-file Dems with the use of iconic imagery, buzz words, and the kind of lofty rhetoric that is intended to inspire and engage, but it was really, really good. Doubtless, there probably was a touch of that “buyer’s remorse” for Obama supporters. But again, I apparently missed the Big Picture again. Can’t wait for the nihilists to drop that marmot into McCain’s bath tub next week. They will, won’t they? Won’t they?
Hey, folks, don’t look know but McCain has “surged” past Obama in the latest Reuters poll of likely voters (http://news.yahoo.com/story//nm/20080820/ts_nm/usa_poll_politics_dc), and I can already envision the response to this: 1)it’s only a poll 2) nobody ever ask ME who I was voting for 3) there are still 2 1/2 months before the election, etc. I admit there’s a bit of “I told you so in this” as I’ve said repeatedly that Obama (or any Dem for that matter) should be wiping the floor with McCain given his history of backing every failed and unpopular position that ever dribbled out of Bush’s rear end, and that even Obama’s 7 or 8 percentage point lead in earlier polls was astonishingly small. But, old friends, this here is the U-nited States of Uhmerica and across the Great Homeland this shit sells: http://thinkprogress.org/2008/08/05/auto-makers-on-tire-inflation/..and so does this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JhbEjPNAqs . And furthermore, Obama’s new hawkishness on foreign policy has curried him no favor with up-tighty righties, only scorn from his own base. Watching Senator Obama appear before the Jesus Forum the other night was like watching a guy who had memorized the lines from Hamlet only to find himself opening night walking onto the set of Bye Bye Birdie. And yes, there are 2 1/2 months before the election and the race will tighten and there will be swings in the polls but if this thing is a statistical dead heat going into November, who do You think will find a way to “win”?
In case you’re interested, here’s the transcript of the previous 1 1/2 hours of the negotiation between the Ocenside officer and the suicidal young man on 12/26/08 (you’ll have to download the pdf file on your own): http://www.northcountytimes.com/articles/2008/08/07/news/sandiego/z1d643994b5cb7ad78825749e00728c18.txt
Here’s the link to the Youtube video containing the audio of the final 4 minutes before the fatal shot: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oIcxxZnAME
And here’s the U.T. article: http://signonsandiego.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=SignOnSanDiego.com+%3E+News+%3E+North+County+–+ACLU+is+critical+of+police+in+suicide&expire=&urlID=30258815&fb=Y&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.signonsandiego.com%2Fnews%2Fnorthcounty%2F20080808-9999-1m8aclu.html&partnerID=86541
Reading most of the transcript, I’m not ready to completely condemn the negotiator, as much as it’s tempting. After all, his tactics did fail. I do think, however, hearing the final 4 minutes fails to provide the context of this negotiation “tactic”. I can see the parents p.o.v.. They have to be wracked with guilt over this, being out-of-town on a ski holiday while their oldest son was suffering at home alone. Perhaps they are looking to share the guilt with others. As for the girlfriend, she’ll never be the same. Cop probably feels pretty lousy, too. Lose-Lose-Lose. Tragic, is all I can say. Make up your own minds and let me know what you think.
I have no idea how 2 gargantuan photos appeared on this website during the night. Time to poke a stick in my web host’s cage again to see what the hell’s going on. Also working on the lag/delay between posting comments and those comments actually appearing on the website. We all want instant gratification! And now a Three Dot Wednesday special:
Spoke yesterday about the bizarre attraction between big, bad biker boys rallying in Sturgis, South Dakota this week and the cranky crypto-fascist John McCain and this site (http://suzieqq.wordpress.com/2008/08/05/sturgis-sex-alcohol-drugs-bikers-and-john-mccain/) pretty much cuts to the chase. These are not the bad asses of old, but more akin to any group that coalesces around specific products or collectibles, from beanie babies, to refurbished Tonka toys, to, well, Harley’s. Paunchy middle aged Pabst drinkers about as rebellious as bass fishermen: the perfect target for snake oil salesmen like McCain…
I here-tell there’s another missing little white girl! (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/madeleinemccann/2508744/Madeleine-McCann-police-didn’t-reveal-sighting-of-’Maddy’.html) Stop the presses! Recall the reporter from Darfur. Shut down the Baghdad bureau. Send ‘em to Portugal. We got a hot one here…
Just caught a glimpse on CNN of McCain prowling obsessively back and forth across some stage like an aging caged zoo tiger (http://thinkprogress.org/2008/08/05/auto-makers-on-tire-inflation/). Apparently we was on his off-shore-drilling jag again. He even threatened, that when elected, he would force congress to come back from vacation if felt it was important (obviously cooking up another expansion of Executive powers). Apparently the Repugs think this one’s a big winner as it’s reached near mantra status. The backdrop for this, of course, is the stunt being pulled by a handful of Republican congressmen who are grandstanding on capital hill demanding Dems to return from Martha’s Vineyard and the Hamptons to vote to open up drilling on the continental shelf. Who could have imagined a year ago that a de-stabilized Middle East, profit hungry oil companies, rapacious Wall Street speculators, and greedy Saudi sheiks conspiring to jack up gas prices for unemployed Americans would prove to be an election winner….for Republicans??!!
