Paicifica Radio Archives All-Day Fundraising Special

First off, special event today that Ruth noted:

Pacifica Radio Archives All-Day Fundraising Special
18-hour natl. simulcast of programming from Pacifica's 50-plus-year history. Focuses: civil rights movement, live music, and the 1970 live reading on WBAI of Tolstoy's War and Peace. On December 6 the entire Pacifica network will pre-empt its regular schedule for an 18-hour simulcast of programming drawn from Pacifica's 50-plus-year history. This will be a fundraiser for the Pacifica Radio Archives that preserves the network's audio treasures. This year we're focusing on three major subject areas: the civil rights movement recordings, live music, and the 1970 live reading on WBAI of Tolstoy's War and Peace.

That sounds like it will be really interesting. If you don't have a Pacifica Radio in your area, visit online and you can listen to one of the stations or one of their affiliates.

Second, thank you to C.I. for posting my entry at The Common Ills. C.I. feels bad because it was supposed to go up at The Third Estate Sunday Review but didn't because everyone forgot. I was helping on that edition and I know it was crazy so no apologies or feeling bad necessary.

Jotting from that entry, I got to wonder, is anyone going to make a big deal about the fact that military can spy on us?

And I'm glad Howard Dean's remembered that the war is wrong but after months of so-little to nothing from him on this topic, I'm wondering if this is just all part of the "raise money for the 2006 elections!" plan.

Sorry to feel that way. Dean was a voice against the war in the primaries. But I'm really disappointed about how little he's said on this issue since becoming head of the DNC. If this is a sign of more to come, I might open my wallet. But if this is just a p.r. move to raise money, I'm not interested.

And Seth's posted an entry Sunday so make a point to read it. I think I started a week after Seth but I may have started a week before him. We're the newest bloggers in The Common Ills community. Hope everyone's checking Seth's site.

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Bully Boy's lips were flapping but he was rapping an old track

Comic above is Isaiah's latest The World Today Just Nuts. I love his comics. Besides appearing at The Common Ills, we also used it for "Editorial: Bully With No Plan, Just More Lip." It's a pretty good editorial, so check it out. I think of last week's speech as "Bully Boy's lips were flapping but he was rapping an old track." We heard it all before.

Mom wanted me to note something. Saturday night, she turns on the local news. She hears something like, "When we come back, an attack in Iraq and what are Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt planning?" She couldn't believe it. (They're either planning marriage or about to adopt a baby and then get married or something. It doesn't matter to anyone but them and their family and friends but some news genius thought it was equal to news from Iraq.)

C.I. forwarded me an Associated Press story that was up at the New York Times:

President Bush's motorcade had a minor accident on Sunday when the ambulance that routinely trails the president in case of an emergency crashed into a support vehicle on the way back from Camp David.

Course that ambulance might trail for another reason. Was that thing on Bully Boy's back in the debate with John Kerry a device to feed him lines to say or was it some sort of health thing for his heart? Press never told you and still acts like it didn't happen.

In fact, the New York Times killed their own story on Bully Boy's "bulge." You can check out this from FAIR if that's news to you.

It's Monday. Usual start of the week blahs. Let's hope it's a good week.

Mike's Motto: The Common Ills community is important and the Common Ills community is important to me. So I'll do my part for the Common Ills community.

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Repubes and Race

That's one of my favorites of Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts.


I never get tired of that comic. Partly because it's so true. Turn over a rock and you'll find a swarm of elected Republicans.

If you missed C.I.'s "Target: the 9th Circuit (The Republican war on the judiciary continues)" click and read it to find out the latest attack by the Republicans.

I've got an e-mail from C.I. this morning about "Help Make Thursday, December 1st 'Blog Against Racism Day.'" which is something Leah wrote for Corrente.

When I think of racism, remember I live in Florida, the first thing that comes to mind is the 2000 election. Tubby Tim Russert couldn't stop saying, "Florida, Florida, Florida." And the media swarmed down here like a bunch of Republicans. And of course Republicans swarmed down here to pose as Floridians and try to shut down the recount (and succeeded on that).

There were media reports on the half hour. But the story they didn't want to cover was the disenfranchisement of African-American voters.

Think about all the jawing on Florida, all the cameras, all the coverage and think about how little attention was paid to African-Americans being dropped from the voting rolls.

I think that goes to racism. If it happens to whites, it's news for everyone. If it happens to non-whites, the media decides it's not all that important.

We saw it in the coverage of Florida's 2000 election, we saw it again in Ohio in 2004.

Some issues matter more to the media than others and too often it seems like skin color is what they base that decision on.

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Stanley Tookie Williams & Lori Berenson on Democracy Now today

E-mail from C.I. giving me a heads up on something I want to give you a heads up on:


Tune in to Democracy Now! on Wednesday 11/30 for interviews with Stanley Tookie Williams and Lori Berenson
See Democracy Now! for full audio, video and transcripts
A Conversation with Death Row Prisoner Stanley Tookie WilliamsTwo weeks from the date of his scheduled execution, Williams speaks from death row with Democracy Now! about his case, his life and his redemption. Williams helped start the Crips street gang. But behind bars he has become a leading advocate for the end of gang violence. He has written nine books and has been nominated several times for the Nobel Peace Prize. He is scheduled to die on Dec. 13.
Lori Berenson Commentary from Prison Marks 10th Anniversary of her Arrest
On the 10th anniversary of the arrest of U.S. citizen Lori Berenson, her father, Mark Berenson, reads a commentary she released from prison. She was convicted in 1995 in Peru by hooded military judges of collaborating with the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement. She is scheduled for release in November 2015.
To find a station near you that broadcasts Democracy Now!, see:http://democracynow.org/stations.shtml
ABOUT DEMOCRACY NOW!
Democracy Now! airs on over 350 radio and TV stations, including Pacifica, NPR, community, and college radio stations; on public access, PBS, satellite TV stations (DISH network: Free Speech TV ch. 9415 and Link TV ch. 9410; DIRECTV: Link TV ch. 375); on the WorldRadio Network's European Service and on the Community Broacasting Association of Australia service; as a "podcast", automatically downloaded to your computer or portable audio player; and streams live M-F at 8am EST at Democracy Now!
Now real-time CLOSED CAPTIONED on TV!
You can also view/listen/read all Democracy Now! shows online:
To bring Democracy Now! to your community, go to:http://www.democracynow.org/bringDNtoyou.html

C.I.'s posted it too and notes in the e-mail (and at The Common Ills) that Rod passed on the information. (He's signed up for daily e-mails from Democracy Now!). So check it out. Sounds like an outstanding show today.

Florida edition

The Daily Jot isn't a morning blog. I like to get it out of the way but there are times when it's not possible. Like this morning. The agreement to get my grandfather to come to my mom's was that when he was ready to go back home, no one would try to talk him out of it and I'd just drive him back.

I'm still rubbing my eyes when he says this morning he's ready to go back.

So I took him and guess what, some homes still don't have electricity. Let me repeat that: Some homes still don't have electricty. Maybe you forgot, national media hasn't been interested, but Florida Power & Light swore that by November 22nd power would be back on. They missed that deadline.

So this is the Florida edition of The Daily Jot where I'm going to tell you what the national media hasn't because they don't care.

People who lost their housing are still waiting. They may be in a shelter temporarily. That's the lucky ones.

Car sales and home sales are down for the month. Some say the market in southern Florida has "cooled" due to the hurricane.

Here's a story on something you probably didn't see in the "nation's paper" (New York Times),
Joel Hood "S. Florida's funeral homes coped creatively with Wilma's power outages:"

In the frantic first days after Hurricane Wilma, funeral homes in Broward and Palm Beach counties were forced to come up with creative ways to deal with power outages.
Without electricity to power crematoriums, some funeral homes stacked bodies in dressing rooms. Some shipped bodies to refrigerated holding rooms at county medical examiner's offices. Others embalmed bodies whether families wanted it or not.
Industry officials estimate funeral homes lost millions in the aftermath of Wilma on Oct. 24. Also, some now say restoring power to funeral homes should receive the same priority given to hospitals, supermarkets, and fire and police departments after a natural disaster.
"If we're unable to properly store bodies in a refrigerated facility or do embalming, there immediately starts to be a health issue," said Daniel Perrin, vice president of the Florida Funeral Directors Association, which represents 700 funeral homes.

That's from yesterday's Sun-Sentinel.

Remember when I told you that it was the rains that came through after the hurricane that hurt? Here's a story about today, "20 to 50 residents displaced after building roof collapse in Oakland Park:"

Heavy rains on Tuesday afternoon left about 20 to 50 building occupants out on the street after a roof collapse in Oakland Park.
The building located at 4061 N. Dixie Highway was determined to be unsafe by a building official and was red tagged. The building had suffered previous roof damage from Hurricane Wilma.
The displaced residents are making arrangements to relocate on their own.

Diane C. Lade's "Gas costs hurting volunteers who help disabled, elderly:"

An AARP survey of 568 people age 50 and older, released in October, found 62 percent limited their daily driving because of gas prices after Hurricane Katrina drove up fuel costs. And 41 percent said they cut spending in other areas to pay for gas.

For effects on the high end, check out Douglas Hanks III's "THE EFFECTS OF HURRICANE WILMA CONTINUE TO BE FELT, EVEN AT THIS YEAR'S WHITE PARTY AT MIAMI'S VIZCAYA MUSEUM:"

For a stylish measure of Hurricane Wilma's economic impact, don your best apparel and head out this evening to the White Party.
Half of the restaurants signed up to cater the gala at Miami's Vizcaya Museum have pulled out of the event, saying they lost too much money in the Oct. 24 storm to justify donations to the AIDS fundraiser, organizers said.
''After the storm many called and said, `We've been out of power for 10 days, we lost all our food, we were in trouble anyway. And we won't be able to help you,''' said Rick Siclari, executive director of Care Resource, the AIDS charity that puts on White Party.

Here's the Associated Press's "Wilma highlights plight of Florida's migrant farmworkers:"

Ernesto and Carmen Vasquez intend to celebrate the holidays at home despite the SUV-sized hole in their living-room ceiling -- a calling card left by Hurricane Wilma -- and the red "X" on their door marking the trailer as condemned.
It's been one month since Wilma whipped through their Everglades mobile home park in western Palm Beach County, flattening many of their neighbors' homes, but the couple have yet to receive a visit from aid workers or local officials. Shelters here are scarce, so they plan to remain in their two-bedroom trailer with their two children -- if the rest of the roof doesn't cave in.
"We still have a house, so I suppose we are among the lucky ones," Carmen Vasquez said, as she looked up at the ceiling boards, sagging above photos of her children.
The Vasquez family is among thousands of Florida's uninsured farmworkers, some still without electricity, who are awaiting help in the wake of the Oct. 24 storm that thrashed South Florida at the end of the nation's worst hurricane season on record. Farmworker advocates say the situation is bad, but worse is the fact that it is looking like a repeat of last year, with migrant workers' flimsy housing rebuilt just in time for the next season's storms.

Maybe you needed aid? How's that going? This is from "Food Stamps Yet To Arrive For 50,000 Wilma Victims:"

Almost 3 million people filed for emergency food stamps in one of Florida's biggest disasters -- Hurricane Wilma.
On Tuesday, one Boynton Beach woman said it's taken so long to get the food stamps, she's had to take out a cash advance and skip Thanksgiving.
Ketty Jules is just one of about 50,000 people who are still waiting for that emergency help.
Jules is a working single mom who, like many, lives from paycheck to paycheck.
When hurricane Wilma roared thru last month, Ketty lost her electricity and a week's paycheck.
"Because of everything defrosting, I threw away everything in the fridge and went to John Prince Park and waited for almost four hours," she said. "They told me food stamp cards would get here in 7 to 10 days, and nothing ever did."

Well at least the rent stayed the same. Who wants to move to the area now? But believe it or not, rent's have risen. This is from Robin Benedick's "South Florida landlords blame rising taxes, insurance costs for rent surge:"

Landlords in South Florida say skyrocketing taxes and insurance costs are forcing them to sell their units or raise rents -- in some cases by several hundred dollars a month.
Rental property doesn't qualify for Florida's Save Our Homes property tax break, which limits annual property tax increases on homes to 3 percent.

I could go on and on. There are millions of stories. Too bad the national media doesn't seem to give a damn.

So that's it for the Florida Edition of The Daily Jot today.

Bully Boy

Illustration above from Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts.

4 aid workers kidnapped, at least 30 killed by a bomb outside of a hospital, Sunnis saying they're being targeted by the U.S. and Shia, go down the list.

And the U.S. military fatality toll for the month stands at 79 and has reached 2108 total.

Bully Boy lied us into war and now he's content to keep playing in his bloodbox while people keep dying.

Headlines

The Daily Jot doesn't have to be up in the morning first thing. Today I slept in, got out of bed in time to catch some football and was a lump on the couch for most of the morning and afternoon.
C.I. called and asked if I wanted to take part in something. Democracy Now! did a special on the guy who wrote the lyrics to The Wizard of Oz music and other songs. It's a really good special and you should check it out.

But since there were no headlines today, the thought was that those who wanted to could participate in coming up with the headlines. So that's what we did. It was like one of The Third Estate Sunday Review's "News Reviews" only shorter. Mom's always wondering how that process works and today she got to see. We were on the phone for about two hours. I think Mike's going to go over the process at his site so I'll leave that for him.

Besides providing the community with some headlines, C.I. and Elaine also thought it would help in terms of getting us together to work on something before Saturday night. Mom always wonders how those things go when we're all working together so she was right there listening to me on the phone.

C.I. and Elaine also thought it would help with us all being in holiday spirit and maybe not wanting to do long entries.

So here's some news you might not know about. We're all going to be posting it because we all worked on it.

We've composed the following twelve headlines dealing with Iraq, peace, global warming, reproductive rights, Bob Woodward, Judith Miller, prisons, the Patriot Act, the media, fatalities and other topics.

1) From Dahr Jamail's MidEast Wire (Iraq Dispatches):
Monday in Iraq, US troops fired on a car in Ba'qubah, killing five, two adults and three children. The US military states that they feared the car "booby-trapped." The family had been returning from visiting relatives when a US convoy approached. The car was fired on from the front and the back. One Iraqi was quoted as saying, "The ones who brought in the Americans are at fault. Those who support them are at fault. All of them are at fault. Look at these. They are all children. All of them of are children. They killed them. They killed my entire family."

2) In the United States the Associated Press reports that Cindy Sheehan returned to Crawford, Texas Thursday and joined what some estimates say were 100 protestors and other estimates say as many as 200.Cindy Sheehan stated, "I feel happy to be back here with all my friends ... but I'm heartbroken that we have to be here again," said Sheehan, who hoped to arrive earlier in the week, but was delayed by a family emergency. "We will keep pressing and we won't give up until our troops are brought home."

3) Since Sheehan and others last gathered at Camp Casey I and Camp Casey II, laws have been passed to prevent further gatherings in Crawford -- "local bans on roadside camping and parking." As protestors returned this week, they were advised they could be arrested. Among those arrested Wednesday were Daniel Ellsberg and US diplomat Ann Wright. Democratic Underground has a report from Carl who was also arrested Wendesday. Carl reports that "The entire [arrest & booking] process took 3.5 hours." Carl advises that the vigils will also take place on Christmas and New Year's Eve as well as that "Donations to the Crawford Veterans For Peace can be mailed to P. O. Box 252, Crawford, Texas, 76638-9998."

4) As the participation of psychologists and psychiatrists in the "BISQUIT" program and other 'interrogation' work raises ethical and professional questions today, CounterPunch is reporting that in WWII, United States anthropologists participated with the Office of Strategic Services in attempts to determine means to destroy the Japanese. David Price reports, in what is a clear betrayal of the profession, anthropologists were instructed "to try to conceive ways that any detectable differences could be used in the development of weapons, but they were cautioned to consider this issue 'in a-moral and non-ethical terms'." Price notes "Ralph Linton and Harry Shapiro, objected to even considering the OSS' request ­ but they were the exceptions."

5) In legal news, as the prison industry has switched to a profit making business, prisoners have found themselves located far from relatives. The distance has proved profitable for long distance companies. The Center for Constitutional Rights argued in court Monday on behalf of "New York family members who pay a grossly inflated rate to receive a phone call from their loved ones in state prisons." CCR notes:

The lawsuit, Walton v. NYSDOCS and MCI, seeks an order prohibiting the State and MCI from charging exorbitant rates to the family members of prisoners to finance a 57.5% kickback to the State. MCI charges these family members a 630% markup over regular consumer rates to receive a collect call from their loved ones, the only way possible to speak with them. Judge George Ceresia of the Supreme Court of New York, Albany County, dismissed the suit last fall, citing issues of timeliness.

6) In other legal news, Cynthia L. Cooper reports for Women's enews that November 30th the Supreme Court will hear arguments in Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England. At issue in this case, is whether or not bans on reproductive freedom enacted by state legislatures must take effect before they can be legally challenged or whether they can be challenged as soon as they are passed. The standard up to now has been that laws can be challenged as soon as they are passed. Cooper notes:

By changing the legal standard for when an abortion restriction can be challenged in court, anti-abortion laws could quickly entangle women across the country, without directly overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court case that held that states could not criminalize abortion in all circumstances.

7) The Guardian of London reports on a Rutgers University study that has found "[g]lobal warming is doubling the rate of sea level rise around the world, but attempts to stop it by cutting back on greenhouse gas emissions are likely to be futile." Professor Kenneth Miller tells The Guardian's Ashraf Khalil, "This is going to cause more beach erosion. Beaches are going to move back and houses will be destroyed." This comes as the Climate Conference is gearing up to take place in Montreal from November 28th to December 9th. United for Peace and Justiceis issuing a call for action:

This fall let's mobilize a nationwide, grassroots education and action campaign leading up to mass demonstrations in Montreal and throughout the U.S. on Saturday, December 3rd. Help gather signatures for the Peoples Ratification of the Kyoto Global Warming Treaty (http://www.unitedforpeace.org/www.kyotoandbeyond.org), which will be presented in Montreal. Join Climate Crisis: USA Join the World! (http://www.unitedforpeace.org/www.climatecrisis.us) as we call for:
USA Join the World by Ratifying the Kyoto Protocol
Support and Export Clean, Safe, Non-Nuclear Energy Alternatives
End Government Subsidies for Oil and Coal Corporations
Dramatically Strengthen Energy Conservation and Fuel Efficiency Standards
A Just Transition for Workers, Indigenous and Other Communities Affected by a Change to Clean Energy
Defend the World's Forests; Support Community-Run Tree Planting Campaigns

8) With Congress out of session due to the holidays, a number of organizations are attempting to inform the public of pending legislation. The Bill of Rights Defense Center warns to "[e]xpect a vote [on the renewal of the Patriot Act]after Congress returns on December 12th." Of the bill, Lisa Graves of the ACLU states:

The Patriot Act was bad in 2001, and despite bipartisan calls for reform, it's still bad in 2005. Instead of addressing the real concerns that millions of Americans have about the Patriot Act, the Republican majority in Congress buckled to White House pressure, stripping the bill of modest yet meaningful reforms. Congress must reject this bill.

Both the ACLU and the Bill of Rights of Defense Center are calling for grass roots action.

Also asking for action is NOW. Congress failed to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act. You can make your voice heard via NOW's take action page. On their page, you have the option of e-mailing your representatives and/or signing a petition that NOW will present to Congress on December 5th.

9) Meanwhile, as November winds down, American military fatalities have reached 76 for the month, with the Department of Defense reporting 50 Americans wounded thus far this month. The total number of American military killed in Iraq, official count, has reached 2105. Scripps Howard News Service reports that, "U.S. commanders on the ground have already launched plans to close bases and withdraw troops in the coming year, according to two congressmen who returned from Iraq this week." The two congress members are John Kline and Mark Kennedy (Republicans, Minn.).

10) In other Congressional news, Ari Berman reports for The Nation that John McCain is in the midst of makeover. Meeting with The Arizona Republican Assembly in August, McCain slapped some new war paint on as McCain supported the teaching of so-called "intelligent design" side by side with evolution, the state's "ban on gay marriage that denies government benefits to any unmarried couple," hailed Ronald Reagan as "my hero" and was observed "strenuously defending . . . Bush's Iraq policy."

For those who have forgotten, McCain attended Mark Bingham's funeral. Bingham was one of the passengers of Flight 93 on 9/11 in immediate media reports. As the days wore on, Bingham appeared to disappear from many reports. Mark Bingham was gay. Whether that resulted in a "downgrading" by some in the media has been a source of speculation for some time.

11) Focusing on the media, at The Black Commentator, Margaret Kimberly addresses the issue of Bob Woodward, tying him and his editor to the journalistic behaviors of Judith Miller and her editors:

Miller, Sulzberger, Woodward and Bradlee are at the top of the corporate media food chain, and their behavior tells us why Americans aren't being told anything they ought to be told. Woodward uses his access to make a fortune writing about the Supreme Court or various presidential administrations. If a journalist's priority is writing best selling books based on the amount of access gained with the powerful, then truth telling goes out the window.

12) Also addressing the very similar behaviors of Miller and Woodward are Steven C. Day at Pop Politics, Ron Brynaert at Why Are We Back In Iraq?, and Arianna Huffington at The Huffington Post. Though still vocal on Judith Miller and weighing in with the "latest," CJR Daily still can't find a connection between the "journalistic" styles of Judith Miller and Bob Woodward. In their most recent 'Judy report', CJR Daily ponders the question of why did Miller go to jail when Scooter Libby and his people maintain that they released her from confidentiality claims. Covering old news and working themselves into another lather over Miller, CJR Daily wonders"Why did Ms. Miller go to jail?" and maintains the question "has never been fully answered." The question has indeed been answered.

Whether CJR Daily approves of or believes the argument of Miller, Floyd Abrams, et al, is beside the point. For the record, the answer has been given many times. The argument was that Miller needed more than a form signed possibly under duress. Abrams and others have long been on the record explaining that they sought a release other than the form. In the front page report, Sunday October 16, 2005, Don Van Natta Jr., Adam Liptak and Clifford J. Levy reported:

She said she began thinking about whether she should reach out
to Mr. Libby for "a personal, voluntary waiver."
[. . .]
While she mulled over over her options, Mr. Bennett was urging her to allow him to approach Mr. Tate, Mr. Libby's lawyer, to try to negotiate a deal that would get her out of jail. Mr. Bennet wanted to revive the question of the waivers that Mr. Libby and other administration officials signed the previous year authorizing reporters to disclose their confidential discussions.
The other reporters subpoenaed in the case said such waivers were coerced. They said administration officials signed them only because they feared retribution from the prosecutor or the White House. Reporters for at least three news organizations had then gone back to their sources and obtained additional assurances that convinced them the waivers were genunie.
But Ms. Miller said she had not gotten an assurance that she felt would allow her to testify.

Again, from the front page New York Times story on . . . October 16, 2005. Though this was not the first reporting on Miller's position, this front page story of the Times was commented in great detail including at CJR Daily here and here. The latter time by the same writer who now wonders "Why did Ms. Miller go to jail?" Repeatedly hitting the designated pinata with articles focusing on her conduct while reducing the conduct of Bob Woodward to asides (whispered asides?) doesn't appear to make for brave "watchdoggery."

Democracy Now! has a special presentation today. The headlines above were composed by The Third Estate Sunday Review's Dona, Jess, Ty, Ava and Jim, Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude, C.I. of The Common Ills and The Third Estate Sunday Review, Kat of Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills), Mike of Mikey Likes It!, Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz, Betty Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man, Wally of The Daily Jot and Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix. Thanks to Dallas for his help with links and tags.

Hope that had something of interest to you. Don't forget Mike's motto:

The Common Ills community is important and the Common Ills community is important to me. So I'll do my part for the Common Ills community.

Happy Thanksgiving

Mom asked me, "Why haven't you run the photo of Kayla's son?" That's Common Ills community member Kayla's son Brian. He was born last week.

Why haven't I run the picture? C.I. was going to wait and run it on Thanksgiving and I figured I'd wait and run it the day after. Rebecca ran it Sunday morning when C.I. couldn't get it to post at The Common Ills. To post pictures not online, Rebecca, C.I. and Third Estate Sunday Review use this program called Hello. That's how C.I. posts Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts.

The Third Estate Sunday Review ran an article and wanted the photo in it, not above it or below it. To have it in an entry, you need to be using a photo already online. C.I. kept getting error messages from Hello (which is why Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts didn't go up until Monday morning). So Rebecca tried and after a few error messages, finally got it up at her site. Then it was able to be put inside the article The Third Estate Sunday Review ran.

Elaine ran the photo in a post at her site on Monday and Rebecca reran it then too.

Mom wasn't concerned about C.I. She figured it would go up at The Common Ills and that the Ted Koppel thing had C.I. running behind as well as the holidays. But in terms of me and Mike and Cedric, I heard about it.

Mom said, "What is with you three guys? You're too 'manly' to post a photo of a baby?"

I laughed and pointed out that Kat and Betty hadn't posted it either.

But so Mom won't think that I think I'm too "manly" to run a photo of a baby, there it is.

Cedric posted yesterday and he did a great post but I think he was just trying to get it up and be done with it and sometimes you try to put a photo in these things and it's nothing but problems.
Like in the article for The Third Estate Sunday Review, Brian's photo runs three times in a row.
They only inserted it once. Sometimes you can play with inserting a photo over and over before you can get it to show up.

What's the point of all this?

Well a lot of times when I'd read The Common Ills and the other community sites, I'd see something and wonder about it. Like when Isaiah's comic didn't go up Sunday, if I wasn't there helping with Third Estate Sunday Review, I might have thought, "Is Isaiah sick?" or "Did Isaiah do a comic that's been censored?" or "Is something wrong with my computer?"

Or maybe I also wouldn't get why a typo wouldn't be corrected. C.I. will correct a name that's spelled wrong but otherwise doesn't care. Beth's offered her opinion in her columns that she thinks C.I. makes a typo or two intentionally to keep that "do-it-yourself flavor."

I don't care about typos as long as I can understand what someone's saying.

But doing The Daily Jot I really get that time is limited. And like Jim always says about typos at The Third Estate Sunday Review, if we make a mistake, we do a correction, if we make a typo tough crap. He feels that way because you don't see a newspaper running corrections on typos and they make them too.

But doing The Daily Jot, I'm a seasoned pro now with a month under my belt ha ha, I see that you have to think about what you're going to say, then you have to write it and then you have to make sure you like it. All of that is probably obvious. Then comes hitting the "publish post" button. And sometimes Blogger, the program we all use, takes the post right away. Sometimes it takes a few minutes. You're not done then though. You need to "republish index" and "republish blog" which are two more buttons you have to click on. If you don't do both, your latest post might not show up when people pull up your site.

I usually go fairly quick. But to "republish blog" for C.I. takes around ten minutes.

Rebecca's asked everyone to do tags. Technorati doesn't read my tags or my site but I keep tagging. It doesn't take me too much time. I usually cheat and copy the tags from a post by C.I. or Mike or Kat. But if you've got a lot of stuff in, like C.I. usually does, it takes awhile to get those tags in.

And like yesterday morning, C.I. posted the thing on Ted Koppel. That was tagged. But it didn't show up at Technorati searches. So C.I. had to keep "republishing blog" over and over and estimates it probably took an hour of time to keep doing that throughout the day.

So my point is that if you do several posts a day and go through all that crap (Jim calls tagging crap), there's not all this time some people might think there is.

And there's a bigger point that I'm getting too. I got an e-mail about my blogging yesterday. The guy was nice and I won't name him because I disagree with his e-mail. He said he was afraid I was getting lazy like some other bloggers that don't blog regular. It's a lot of work sometimes. Like if Rebecca's doing an entry with a lot of links, she has to hunt down everyone of those and that takes a great deal of time.

I do a "jot." This is my entry for today and tomorrow so it's longer and consider it my holiday entry to so it's probably going to be the longest thing I'll do at my blog.

I'm the newest of the community bloggers so I wanted to talk about what I've learned. Mike and everyone else is good about helping me out when I don't know how to do something and talking me though the technical aspect. But I know sometimes they have to think about it because it's something they've been doing so long that they've forgotten the mechanics of it because it's natural to them now.

So if someone in the community or outside is thinking about starting a site, I feel like I might have something to say there.

Here's my list of things I've learned.

1) Typos won't be avoided. That's true even if you use the spell check. If you mean "too" but type "to" the spell check won't catch it. Accept that typos will happen (and Jim would point out that they happen in newspapers all the time).

2) You want perfection. That's fine if you're going to do one entry a month. If you're going to try to blog regularly, you need to remember Kat's motto: "It is what it is." Depending upon your level of perfectionism, you may never be satisfied. If you have people reading, they're waiting for new content.

If you subscribe to a paper, Mom subscribes to three, think about it like that. You've got your coffee brewing and you're waiting for the paper. You don't want to wait and wait. You want it to be there. You can obsess on your end but on the other end, people are waiting. So if you're a big perfectionist, you may never be pleased.

Ava and C.I. aren't perfectionists in terms of spelling. They could care less. And Ava points to studies where people recognize the word if it has the letters or most of them in it. But they would love to have more time to do their TV reviews. Not for spelling but to make their points and to polish. They usually have about 20 minutes to write those reviews. They're great reviews. (And check out their latest review which is on Commander-in-Chief.) But they don't go back and reread them.

I can't believe that because the reviews are so damn funny. If I have time to play on the net, at least once a week, I'll read one of their reviews. "Make Room For Bully" and "Threshold" and "Prison Break" are probably my three favorites.

But it's true. They loathe those reviews. They can tell you the points they're making but they can't quote from the reviews. Now everybody else can and will when we're all working on The Third Estate Sunday Review. But they get those things done and just want to never look at them again.

Betty is that plus spelling. She is as much a perfectionist about how she says it but she also cares about spelling. And Betty has about thirty minutes to an hour most nights after she gets her kids to bed that she can work on her posts. She works on the same post over and over trying to make it say just what she wants. And she does one post a week. She wishes she did more and is trying to figure out some sort of a balance. Today she'll be blogging with an entry that she's going to try to spend no more than an hour on.

So you need to think about what level of perfectionism you want.

3) Why are you blogging?

C.I. turns down interview requests. And there was one that Jess was talking about, but wouldn't name, that came in Friday and Jess saw it when he was helping with the mail. (Jess and Ava both help C.I. with the e-mails.)

Not everyone would turn down interview requests.

If you're doing it to get famous or make money, chances are it won't happen.

The internet has already developed their star systems and few will probably break through. (C.I.'s broken through - Jim, Dona and my opinion and I'll talk about that on another thing.)
If you're looking for fame and riches, you're probably going to be blogging in vain.

The smartest thing to do is figure out what you want to do before you start.

If you're just trying to have a conversation with people who might be interested, you're probably going to be happier than you would be doing it for any other reason.

4) There are no rules.

A supposed still indymedia-er angered the indymedia community with a trashing indymedia article that ran in LiP magazine and then got distributed online by a non-indymedia organization.

You'll read a lot of people telling you what to do. Don't listen.

Write what you want, the way you want, and make it true to you.

That's how it will reach anyone (even if it's just one person). A lot of people forget that and you go to their sites and just yawn.

They're all trying to copy the big dogs and trying to cover the same hot topic and they've got nothing to offer that you can't find somewhere else.

Rebecca's stayed true to herself and built up quite a following. If I go to any of the community sites, I get a unique voice. They're all of the left because it's a community for the left. But they'll look at something in their own way. You can see that with Elaine and Mike's posts where they'l work out which two headlines from Democracy Now! to note each day and they'll both have a left opinion but they'll both notice something different in their comments.

Jim's had a hard time accepting that C.I.'s going to do things the way C.I. wants. Gina and Krista argue that C.I.'s style at The Common Ills is "a private convesation taking place in public." That means C.I. may be noting something to members instead of working on the "big lead" at the top of an entry. Members love that. Jim's always wanting more recognition for The Common Ills and will argue that an entry should have started four paragraphs down, without comments that are to members.

But as interview requests have come in and Ava and Jess have seen them and as people on Jim's campus have stopped him, people he doesn't really know, to talk about something up at The Common Ills, Jim's grown to realize that the community feel C.I.'s created is more important than journalism rules.

On my campus, I see it too with people who read The Common Ills. They aren't even members but they read it and feel like they've had a conversation. It's casual and it can be funny or pointed but it's not, "Oh no! I had to read the New York Times" or whatever stiff, lifeless thing you might think of.

Stephen Hadley is now in the news re: Plamegate. C.I. wrote a thing this summer that was talking about Hadley's role. There wasn't a lot of attention on that from the "news community" online. But in it, while C.I. was talking you through it, C.I. provided examples. One was using Matt Damon. That led to people seeing it that wouldn't normally. (Mike got e-mails on that and ended up with a reader specifically because the woman came across C.I.'s post as a result of the Matt Damon ref.)

If C.I. was trying to take on that "serious" attitude, many of the people in the community would never have noticed The Common Ills.

When C.I. was on the phone with me helping me set up this site, I kept asking about "the rules" and C.I. said there are none.

I think if you approach it that way, you're better off.

If you're a copy of someone else, you're just a copy. Be you and that's something different.

4) I want to talk about something but no one's talking about it.

Probably somewhere, someone is. They may or may not be talking about it online.

But if it matters to you and you think you can say something about it, do so.

Rebecca's found a huge audience by talking about stuff other people wouldn't think to or wouldn't talk about if they did think about it. C.I.'s led the charge against Dexter Filkins.
Dexter Filkins is becoming a joke. When C.I. first addressed it, C.I. was a lonely voice. For moths after, C.I. was still the only one questioning Dexter's rah-rah Falluja reporting. That's less the case today.

You can be one more person trashing Judy Miller today. To me that's a bit like bringing green bean casserole to a Thanksgiving lunch. Usually you have four to five people bringing that same dish. Everyone playing safe and bringing the same thing.

You don't stand out doing that. You don't look brave doing that.

You look like you're going for the easiest thing.

And now that I'm back at Mom's and catching up with friends, that's one thing I'm hearing over and over. A lot of laughter at the bloggers going after Judy Miller, after she's left the paper. A lot of laughter at the fact that these "brave" voices think she was a solo writer on every piece. My buddy Tomas laughs at four bloggers who are trying to be "big" by joining in the dogpile on Miller but don't know their facts.

5) Are you a blogger or are you trying to be an official voice for the Democratic Party? (If you're a Republican reading this, substitute "Republican Party.")

One of the other big laughs these days is in watching the war cheerleaders on the left try to rewrite history and act like they haven't been advocating "stay the course" nonsense. There's one in particular that's a joke on Mike's campus, on Third's campus and on my campus who lied about Cindy Sheehan when she was camped outside Bully Boy's "ranch" and tried to argue that Cindy Sheehan wasn't for bringing the troops home. The blogger looked like a fool.

The blogger looks like a bigger fool now writing things that try to imply she's always wanted the troops pulled out. She hasn't. She's been the unofficial voice of the Democratic Party. She's followed the party line of "we have to stay!" She kept doing that long after the public wanted the troops home. She only changed her party line when the party started to a little.

Now she's putting up posts acting like she was for this all along.

She wasn't. She was wrapping herself in the flag and insulting people who wanted the troops home now. She was a tool for the party and she's now a joke on campuses.

If you're going to parrot whatever your political party says, you probably don't need to do a blog. Political parties have their own sites.

If you're going to ask the questions that need to be asked and raise the issues that need to be raised, you should probably do a blog.

But if you exist to celebrate your politicians, call it a "fan club" and not a "blog" so people know what to expect.

6) Drop the "I live above it all" tone.

If you're angry, be angry.

Quit trying to prove your maturity. Mature adults are not robots. They have feelings. They may be sad, they may be happy, they may be angry, they may be inspired.

There's a dork who trashed C.I. for writing "Focus on the Fool" in January. That was a post ridiculing the idiot James Dobson. This dork, on the "left", said we had to be fair and welcoming of Dobson. The idiot didn't know what he was talking about. I doubt he'd write the defense of Dobson today.

But back when it was all about pushing the lie of "values voters" dork needed to prove he was with the program. Dork is a dork. Dork will always be a dork.

Dork may as well put on a long dress to go with his school marm "style."

Dork thinks he looks rational and mature. He just reads bo-ring!

Elaine noted she was really depressed on the anniversary of the slaughter of Falluja. She got more response from that than anything else she'd put up prior. Adults have emotions.

People respond to emotions. They don't respond to robotics.

Dork is a robatic.

If you're going to hide your own emotions, don't expect anyone to relate to you or to respond to your writing.

7) When something feels important to you, go with it. Listen to yourself.

When I kept asking for the "rules" from C.I. that first night, C.I. told me a story about how there was an assignment in an English class C.I. took. The person C.I. was living with ripped C.I. off.
"What are you going to write about?" C.I. told. Then the night before the paper is due, the person announces, "I wrote it." C.I.'s response was anger and then to note, "Fine, but it happened to me, not you. I'm writing about it and mine will be better because it happened to me." The person was trying to copy C.I. C.I. ended up with the A and the copy cat ended up with a C.

No one can talk about your life as well as you can because it means something to you. Be yourself and listen to yourself.

That's how C.I. has broken through. That's why Jess and Ava keep reading the interview requests in the e-mails.

Nobody is ever going to e-mail the Dork I talked about earlier and ask for his opinion. That's because you find it at 50 sites with bigger audiences. You be you and you will be noticed in some way. Maybe you'll break through the way C.I. has, maybe you won't. But you will be noticed by some people.

Dork never will. He's a copy of a copy of a big dog net star.

Originals stand out. Copies just make you think of the people they're copying.

So tomorrow's Thanksgiving and I hope everyone who reads this has something to be thankful for.

I'm thankful that despite Hurricane Wilma coming through, we've survived. I'm personally thankful that my family is okay. I'm thankful that we'll be getting together tomorrow for some fantastic food and sharing. I'm thankful that I do have memories of my dad. A lot of people lose a parent much younger than I did and are left with no memories. I can remember Dad and my family's been real good about talking about him and helping to keep him alive. I'm thankful that I lived through the car accident and that my mom did too. I'm thankful that the country has caught on to the Bully Boy even if the big media hasn't. I'm thankful that I have friends who are there for me. I'm thankful that I'm part of a wonderful community that's supportive and really cares.

I'll end with Mike's motto:

The Common Ills community is important and the Common Ills community is important to me. So I'll do my part for the Common Ills community.

How long did this entry take? About an hour to write. The links I have above? About an hour and 26 minutes. Now I'll swipe tags from Kat. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I'll jot on Friday.

the common ills
sex and politics and screeds and attitude
like maria said paz
the third estate sunday review
cedrics big mix
mikey likes it
the daily jot
kats korner
thomas friedman is a great man

Grab bag

Had to start with Isaiah's latest The World Today Just Nuts. "Deep discussions."

I always love The World Today Just Nuts but when Bully Boy's playing cowboy, it's always extra funny.

As Mike said:

The community is important and the community is important to me. So I'll do my part for the community.

I'll be jotting today (obviously) and tomorrow and probably on Friday but don't expect anything Thursday. I can't promise you a certain time. I like to get it out of the way in the morning but that doesn't always happen.

This morning, we were cracking wallnuts for a bread my mom's making and pecans for some pies she's making. That was me and my grandfather. We also took the turkey out of the freezer to defrost and we just bought it yesterday so that didn't make a lot of sense. Why put it in the freezer in the first place?

We didn't put the ham in there?

Is it bird flu? Something else?

I don't know. I don't cook.

But Mom does and she's a great cook. She's working half a day tomorrow and then coming in to get started.

I don't cook but I do odds and ends. I'll peel potatoes and mash them when she tells me to. Or I'll stir for her. But I have no idea how to cook anything except scrambled eggs unless you count throwing something in the microwave.

Another gasbag bites the dust.

Tonight Ted Koppel leaves Nightline. If your eyes are welling up, make a point to read C.I.'s "The end of a (bad) era" and Rebecca's ""ted koppel go away already."

And don't miss Rebecca's "makeout music" entry. I'm not sure what I'd pick if I had to pick just one. Maybe Dave Matthews Band "Crash"?

That's a pretty sexy song. Way the music rolls around like waves and all. Check out what Rebecca's readers picked.


ted koppel
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Return of the Jot

Where's the damn Daily Jot?

Well we spent yesterday convincing my grandfather, my mom and me, that he couldn't continue to stay in his house. He was going to Mom's for Thanksgiving anyway so yesterday morning when he said he was thinking about leaving early, we packed up some stuff and talked to a few neighbors to make sure they'd keep a watch on his house.

He's really not into driving at night, even when it's me driving, or maybe especially when it's me driving. So we headed out first thing this morning and once we got here, we unloaded my car.

I took a shower and sat down to jot.

Opened the e-mails and a lot of "more on Woodward!" I think C.I.'s pretty much covered it this morning with "NYT: Woody sees his shadow and goes back underground."

On Florida, I'll note this:

A Florida businessman has sued Florida Power & Light over Hurricane Wilma's massive blackouts, accusing the state's largest power company of gross negligence in failing to maintain power poles and other equipment.
Wilma, which hit Florida on October 24, knocked out electricity to about 3.2 million FPL customers, leaving nearly 6.5 million people without lights, refrigeration or air conditioning, some for weeks.
The lawsuit, filed on Thursday in Broward County Circuit Court, seeks class-action status for the millions of people affected and alleges FPL, a unit of FPL Group Inc., violated a statutory duty to provide electricity.

Hurricane Wilma and the problems that came after was the story the media wasn't interested in.
That's too bad for them because there were a lot of stories there if they wanted to go looking. There were human interest stories and there were tales of alleged graft and dereliction.

I feel sympathy for the victims of Katrina and Rita (and don't consider myself a victim of Wilma) and agree that it's news but as one story after another repeatedly came on the radio in my grandfather's neighborhood, you'd hear a lot of anger that Florida was being ignored.

Was it about chasing down a story or was it about going after what made Anderson Cooper and others stars?

Did we run out of sympathy?

All the hurricanes hitting at once try our collective patience?

What ingredient was missing in Florida?

Not a high death toll didn't make us "sexy"?

I always thought the news was supposed to be about what was happening. I know that's not what we usually get. But a bunch of Floridians, many elderly, losing their homes, without power,
coming together to help one another out, seems to me like there's about fifty stories there.

The national media seems ill equipped to cover more than three stories at a time. Makes you wonder what else goes on in our nation that we don't hear about. Not just in D.C. but all over.

The national media filed on New Orleans and apparently that was their hurricane story.

The people of New Orleans are still being screwed over. It's a story worth covering. It's too bad that when it comes to the people of the United States, we're only worth one story. But hey, Harvard's offering extension classes! And colic might be curable by tea, massage or everything!
And "For One Student, A College Career Becomes a Career"! So how could Florida ever hope to compete with those important, must know stories?

the common ills
the daily jot
florida

Enter the Woodman

Woody's back in the news and Patrick Fitzgerald's got him!

Seems the Wood Man was tipped off about Valerie Plame in June of 2003.

All this time, Woody's played the silent game. Played it really well.

Hasn't done such a good job at reporting . . .

The source who told Woody about Valerie Plame went to Fitzgerald and told him.

If he hadn't, no one might ever know that Woody was a part of this story.

Of course, keeping silent to protect his source, didn't stop the Woodster from offering opinions about Plamegate in interviews. He handed out opinions like they were candy on Halloween night.

But no one hearing him knew then that he was a part of the story he was 'objectively' opining about.

C.I.'s got an editorial about it: "Editorial: Someone explain to Bob Woodward that a reporter reports."

I'm using Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts from June 5th to note Woody's latest "I am the story!"


the common ills
the daily jot
the world today just nuts

Bully Boys lips start flapping, the lies start flying

Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts on Bully Boy's Veterans Day Speech. Bully Boy when the lips start flapping, the lies start flying.

Years from now, he'll be like the converse George Washington. Parents will tell about him chopping down a cherry tree and how when asked, even though he was holding the axe at the time, he said, "No, no, it wasn't me!" When he was shown photos a neighbor took of him chopping down the tree, little Bully Boy would whine, "We all wanted to chop down the cherry tree!"

Moral of the story parents will point out to children, "You are responsible for your own actions. Not 'everyone else.' Not Bill Clinton. You."

At The Third Estate Sunday Review, I worked with them on this piece about the lies of Bully Boy. Check it out.

the common ills
the third estate sunday review
the daily jot
the world today just nuts

Silence & False Compassion

The above is from Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts on Aug. 28th. So today Bully Boy meets with some veterans of other wars and gives a rah-rah speech. That's the fire he's putting out today. One day he spends a few minutes acting like he cares about the victims of one of the hurricanes, then he spends time acting like he's concerned about the war, then he spends time . . . Lots and lots of acting.

Reality is that about half the people on my grandfather's street have left. They got tired of waiting for the electricity to come back. It started getting too cold at night.

Bully Boy will have something to say on that if and only if the press starts following this.

I'm not expecting much from either.

Chalabi clowns, Bully Boy clowns, the New York Times clowns . . .

Think of Chalabi as a chef. He cooked and fed Judy Miller most of her "reporting" and he cooked and fed the administration most of their "facts." Over 2,000 Americans are dead and some of that can be traced to Chalabi's "cooking."

If that happened at McDonalds, they'd fire his ass. But even though the administration shares with McDonalds a love for clowns, it doesn't share the basic accountability. So it's no surprise that Chalabi's being brought back in "from the cold." (For more on this, read "Other Items" and "NYT has to promote the AP today because NYT has little news.")

But it is disgusting. And it's one more sign of how there is no accountability in the Bully Boy administration.

Equally amazing is the New York Times which wants to do a mea culpa for their lousy reporting (a lot of it by Judy Miller) and wants to push the administration's "we were all wrong" party line but at the same time wants to promote Chalabi without acknowledging their own relationship with him which included hiring his niece.

Isaiah called it right regarding the state of the world today when he named his comic strip The World Today Just Nuts.

the daily jot
the common ills
the world today just nuts
the new york times
chalabi

Jot and think, one year ago . . .

Thing above is Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts from June 24th (and I used Rebecca's "isaiah resource" to track that down).

This morning, another neighbor was pulling out due to the lack of electricty so we were helping him tie down stuff to his car because he was going to stay with his son and not real sure when he'd be back.

Then we went and watched the thing we heard about last night at The Common Ills:

Brenda e-mails to note "Falluja....again and again" (Baghdad Dweller):
A new documentary released by Italian TV station "RAI" shows evidence that the US used chemical and Napalm weapons in Fallujha.Bodies burned without any traces of fire on the clothes and trust me there are many dead babies.
The documentary called "La strage nascosta" or "The hidden massacre" in English.You can watch the documentary in Arabic, English and Italian.

Use that link to watch. It'll blow your mind.

Then go read "Reading Press Releases Live From The Green Zone."

It was around this time last year that the slaughter in Fallujah started. Think about it and ask yourself what we're doing. Go read Mike from yesterday too. And don't expect to ever read any reality from Dexter Filkins.

the common ills
sex and politics and screeds and attitude
mikey likes it
the daily jot
iraq
the new york times
dexter filkins

Bully Boy ethics "Ha-ha"

Let's all do our best Nelson "Ha-ha" as we think of Bully Boy ordering his staff into ethic's training. Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts on this made me laugh but I had another thought:
What if they really paid attention in "ethics" training?

Would it lead to a mass exodus from the administration?

Focus on that cheery thought for the day.

Also check out the Gareth Porter article that C.I.'s been noting, "Witnesses Describe Ballot Fraud in Nineveh:"

Both U.S. military informants and testimony gathered by civil society leaders in Nineveh reported that the Kurds had spread the rumour in Nineveh province that voters who did not vote "yes" would lose their food ration cards. Many farmers and their families were said by the independent informant to have voted "yes" on the understanding that would ensure the renewal of their ration cards.
The picture of voting irregularities and fear in Nineveh sketched out in these reports from non-Sunni sources collected by the U.S. military and civil society groups support the complaints about electoral fraud by Sunni political figures. And they belie the official portrayal of the referendum as a step toward political legitimacy and democratic development.



the world today just nuts
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Victim of romance

Not in a jotty mood. But C.I. made me laugh with "Other Items" this morning:

There's a "White House Memo" that Carl e-mails about. He wonders whether it will get the sort of ridicule that it deserves and that a "White House Letter" by Elisabeth Bumiller would? Good question.
It's entitled "Press Secretary on Trial in the Briefing Room" and attempts to provide you with the crashing waves that have threatened the love tunnel that exists between the press and Scott McClellan. Stretch praises him. Elite Fluff Patrol squad member Richard W. Stevenson blows air kisses. See, Scotty said Karl Rove and Scooter Libby weren't involved in the outing of Valerie Plame and now that the "public record" demonstrates that this false, poor Scotty and poor press just aren't sure, as Dionne Warwick once sang, what to do with themselves.
It's a tough time for both sides. All those expectations. All those laughs. Could it all be coming to end? He fed them, they stroked him. It was a mutal love affair born of self-interests on both sides. So Stevenson uses terms like "unwilling or unable" (is he charting on patients?) to attempt to explain the bind Scotty finds himself in (although it applies equally as well to what passes for the press). If Scotty comes out and speaks the truth (highly unlikely considering the administration he serves in), Karl Rove might go ballistic on him.What's Scotty to do?Stevenson frets and worries.It's all so very "Victim of Romance:"

Homeroom studyhall
I knew that I was gonna fall
Late at night I weep
Mumble in my sleep
Yeah knock on wood
Say I never felt so good
Heaven above
It must be love
Victim
Victim
I'm a victim of romance

Sing it, Stevenson, sing it!
("Victim of Romance" is written by John Martin. I'll plug Michelle Phillips' version which is available on the album of the same name and which Hip-O Select released this year on CD.)
"A member of a prominent Texas political family, he was viewed by many reporters when he took the job as genial and straightforward but difficult to knock off the White House's talking points," Stevenson all but sobs into pillow.
Stevenson reassures us that, in all the madness, Scotty's high roaded it and "has instead appealed to the better instincts of his journalistic inquisitors." Yes, he can't stop singing "Victim of Romance:"

Cold blooded felony
Murder in the first degree
It's a crime
What he's done to my spine

It certainly is. It certainly is a crime what Scotty's done to Richie's spine. A victim . . . a victim. . . Stevenson's just a victim of romance.Hopefully, it will all be worked out in time for home coming. I'd hate to think Richie might miss getting pinned by Scotty.


the new york times
richard w. stevenson
the common ills

World Can't Wait (but national media can on Bully Boy and Florida and probably everything else)

Just got off the phone with C.I. and hope everyone who can will participate in the World Can't Wait events. It's important to be counted if you're able to.

The photo above is a peace sign from the cover of The Cowboy Junkies' Early 21st Century Blues CD. That's a really good CD, so check it out. The first thing I ever did with The Third Estate Sunday Review was help with their review of that and Dolly Parton's Those Were The Days. Mike had called me earlier that Saturday saying, "You got to get The Cowboy Junkies!" over and over, so I did. Good CD. It'll soothe you. Unless, like me, you're in Florida wondering where the hell the national media is?

While we were on the phone, I got C.I. to read the New York Times' coverage of Florida from today and yesterday.

Today:

Florida: Fishing ban is overturned
A two-month ban on recreational grouper fishing in the Gulf of Mexico was overturned Monday, a day before it was scheduled to go into effect. Judge John E. Steele of Federal District Court ruled that federal officials went too far when they outlawed all grouper fishing to protect one species, red grouper. The restrictions were to have established a closed season for grouper in November and December in federal waters and reduced the daily bag limit of the fish to one from two. The decision means that many species of grouper can be caught in federal waters, beyond nine miles offshore in the Gulf. Red grouper remains off limits in those waters through December.

That's an Associated Press thing (in full) from "National Briefing."

Yesterday?

Florida: Trick-or-Treaters told to proceed with caution
Government officials in South Florida urged parents not to let their children go trick-or-treating after dark because of power failures and fallen power lines affecting much of the area a week after Hurricane Wilma. "If your kids don't need to go door to door trick-or-treating this year, they probably shouldn't," Lt. Bill Schwartz of the Miami police said. "If you can find an alternative like a mall, we highly recommend it." Public schools in Boward Country were closed through at least tomorrow and in Miami-Dade through today. Florida Power and Light said it had restored power to about 25 percent of the 3.3 million people who lost power after the hurricane. But it said some areas might not get power back until Nov. 22.

Also Associated Press also "National Briefing."

It sure is nice to be a "briefing." I asked C.I., when NYC had their day of blackout, how did that play in the paper of record? Front paged. No surprise there.

On the trick-or-treating, it was also because of "debris" from the hurricane and it was much stronger here than the Associated Press paragraph lets on. Then we're reading that 25% of the people who lost power have had it restored. But in some radio reports they say 77%. I don't think anyone's gotten an honest accounting and I don't think they'll get one because the national press isn't interested in this story.

Let me tell you what else you're not being told by the national paper of record. Jeb Bush called off city elections that were to have taken place yesterday in Miami-Dade (including the election of Miami's mayor). Students are missing classes because of the damage done by the hurricane and the lack of a quick response. Jeb's offering waivers because the school's won't meet the compliance demands. Depeche Mode has cancelled their concert, the one that was to kick start their tour, scheduled in Fort Lauderdale. You hearing much about the way it's effecting migrant farm workers?

Maybe if we talk about the effect it's had on college football, some might pay attention?

Did you hear about Tuesday's rainfall? In Broward, you had an apartment complex's roof cave in due to the damage from the hurricane combined with yesterday's rain. They're saying 500 people are now homeless. This story didn't end when the hurricane swept through Florida but the national media acts like it has. You've got complexes and condos that are unsafe and people wondering where they're supposed to go.

And guess what one answer was in Miami? You could stay overnight at a motel. The motel didn't have electricity, but you could stay there. And this "solution" came from the city government.

Where's the national media?

Tomorrow I'll try to be my usual smart ass self. This isn't supposed to be The Daily Florida. But one day without power in NYC is a massive, national news story. What happens in Florida isn't apparently cause for concern. But when a fishing ban is overturned, count on the New York Times to give you that news.

If I was on campus and classes were going on (some campuses are suffering from power shortages as well), I'd walk out at noon to honor World Can't Wait. If you're able to, I hope you will. Peace.

the third estate sunday review
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cowboy junkies

Press cozy with power - always

I think about Isaiah's latest The World Today Just Nuts as I wonder where the national media is on what's going on in Florida? They're cozying up to the power. There's Judy Miller and Matthew Cooper making nice with Karl Rove and Scooter Libby, laughing and grinning, as they scoot on down the road. Is it any wonder that they have no interest in any story that actually effects the people? Or as the mainstream press might call us, "the little people."

the world today just nuts
florida
the common ills
judy miller
matthew cooper
karl rove
scooter libby

Bully Boy Comes To Town

Bully Boy comes to town . . .

Couple days after the Hurricane hit. Lot like 9/11, lot like Hurricane Katrina, lot like everything else he does. Not the brightest even in his own family. He's the kind of guy who's always handing out belated birthday cards.

Power? We've got the generator. That means standing in the gas lines.

But he was all over the radio yesterday telling us how good we got it.

We got it so good that over 1/2 of us without power when the hurricane hit still don't have power.

We got it so good that "good news" is P&L thinks everyone will have electricity by . . . Thanksgiving.

Bully Boy said something like "Soon more and more houmes will have power. Their life will get back to normal."

But he doesn't seem overly concerned. Hear he got some nice photo ops out of it.

Meanwhile, people stand in line for ice and water.

Guess he has other things on his mind with the whole Harriet thing blowing up in his face and rumors that Patrick Fitzgerald will indict someone today?

He came. He spun. He left.

I think the third thing's the only thing to cheer about.

hurricane wilma

bully boy

Quick jot

Right now we have power for a few hours thanks to the generator.

Do I sound like Riverbend?

Well say a prayer for Florida, while the rest of the nation lives under only one Bush, we live under two and you can really tell that with the incompetence displayed at every level in the wake of Hurricane Wilma.

Will we get any news today in Plamegate? Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts contains the news I'm hoping for.

Not much of a Jot, I know but we're on the generator and I don't want to use too much electricity. C.I.'s told me on the phone that everyone's been thinking of my family and me. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. We're fine, just without electricty most days.


karl rove
the common ills

A Bug's Lie

With Wilma headed here, my mind's elsewhere this morning so I'll just post Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts. (Thanks to C.I. for explaining how this weekend.)

tom delay