[About BTJ]
Name: BLT - E-mail me
Age: 28
Why BTJ:"I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one, my eye reaches but little ways; I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by the experience of sight; I can divine it by conscience. And from what I see I am sure it bends towards justice. Things refuse to be mismanaged long."
-- Theodore Parker
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
-- Martin Luther King Jr.
"No people is wholly civilized where a distinction is drawn between stealing an office and stealing a purse."
-- Theodore Roosevelt
"No longer do we take the sword against any nation, nor do we learn war any more, since we have become sons of peace."
--Origen
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But the score's tied! Do we have to turn it to CNN?
MoveOn.org is sponsoring a one-minute boycott of CBS, 30 seconds each at 8:10 pm and 8:35 pm. They're asking us to watch CNN during that time for their fine commercial "Child's Play". My first reaction to this was skepticism - who would possibly care enough to change the channel during the middle of the Super Bowl - but according to their website, CBS has received 340,000 e-mails and phone calls, including one letter from Oregon's own Senator Wyden and another from 28 other Representatives. Senator Durbin of Illinois gave a floor speech lambasting CBS for taking federal anti-trust exemptions and then pulling this.
What can I say? I don't know why people are surprised about this, especially from CBS. Nonetheless, I wonder whether CBS will turn down an advertisement from Kerry (or whoever) which makes the exact same point during the upcoming campaign? And if so, what do we do about it? Talk about a free speech issue - even more blatant interference by the networks in our democratic system.
Write and call CBS and demand they run Child's Play and any other factual, non-inflammatory political ad for the Democrats, just as they will for the Republicans. It probably won't help for the Super Bowl, but it's even more important for the campaign.
What can I say? I don't know why people are surprised about this, especially from CBS. Nonetheless, I wonder whether CBS will turn down an advertisement from Kerry (or whoever) which makes the exact same point during the upcoming campaign? And if so, what do we do about it? Talk about a free speech issue - even more blatant interference by the networks in our democratic system.
Write and call CBS and demand they run Child's Play and any other factual, non-inflammatory political ad for the Democrats, just as they will for the Republicans. It probably won't help for the Super Bowl, but it's even more important for the campaign.
Thursday, January 29, 2004
"No longer pose a threat to our nation"
The United States released three teenagers from Guantanamo Bay today.
CNN: "Two were captured during raids on Taliban camps and the other while trying to get weapons to fight U.S. forces, the department said. "
Bravo to the US for finally releasing this kids, although we should be improving conditions for all the prisoners, not just worrying about who deserves better treatment than whom. But you have to love the spin the government tried to put on it.
Also from CNN:
In a written statement, the Pentagon said that "the juvenile detainees no longer posed a threat to our nation, that they have no further intelligence value and that they are not going to be tried by the U.S. government for any crimes."
Seems coincidental that the only detainees who meet those criteria just happen to be the ones the government's taking the most heat on.
CNN: "Two were captured during raids on Taliban camps and the other while trying to get weapons to fight U.S. forces, the department said. "
Bravo to the US for finally releasing this kids, although we should be improving conditions for all the prisoners, not just worrying about who deserves better treatment than whom. But you have to love the spin the government tried to put on it.
Also from CNN:
In a written statement, the Pentagon said that "the juvenile detainees no longer posed a threat to our nation, that they have no further intelligence value and that they are not going to be tried by the U.S. government for any crimes."
Seems coincidental that the only detainees who meet those criteria just happen to be the ones the government's taking the most heat on.
For the eleven people killed in Jerusalem today, and the eight people killed in Gaza City yesterday.
Tuesday, January 27, 2004
Desertergate continues
Yesterday on the O'Reilly Factor, which I am not in the habit of watching, Bill was answering viewer e-mails. One of his viewers wrote in asking why Clark should go out of his way to refute Michael Moore's "deserter" comments. O'Reilly asked rhetorically, "What if Moore had made anti-semitic comments? Should Clark defend his right to free speech then?"
Ooh, no spin there. Not only is "deserter" not exactly hate speech, it's not exactly false. But Peter Jennings and Bill O'Reilly treat it as though Moore said that Bush eats children.
Michael Moore thinks it's because the media is collectively embarrassed that they haven't covered this story much, but I don't think the media gets collectively embarrassed. I think that the media is responding to the national consciousness: "We would never elect a deserter, and we elected Bush*, ergo Bush is not a deserter."
* Don't get me started.
Ooh, no spin there. Not only is "deserter" not exactly hate speech, it's not exactly false. But Peter Jennings and Bill O'Reilly treat it as though Moore said that Bush eats children.
Michael Moore thinks it's because the media is collectively embarrassed that they haven't covered this story much, but I don't think the media gets collectively embarrassed. I think that the media is responding to the national consciousness: "We would never elect a deserter, and we elected Bush*, ergo Bush is not a deserter."
* Don't get me started.
Monday, January 26, 2004
The King of All Media speaks up for Doctor Dean
Howard Stern, of all people, got it exactly right today about the Dean Iowa post-caucus Yeearghfest: He said (paraphrasing - it's radio, after all) "Are we really going to disqualify someone from being President for getting excited? Do you have to be nearly dead to qualify now?"
Of course, Stern was also the first guy I heard doing remixes of the speech - setting Dean to AC/DC was genius - but laughing at him and deciding not to vote for him are two completely different things.
Of course, Stern was also the first guy I heard doing remixes of the speech - setting Dean to AC/DC was genius - but laughing at him and deciding not to vote for him are two completely different things.
Welcome to the 1 billionth blog on the web. Do I win a shopping spree?
On Martin Luther King's Birthday (observed), which was one week ago today, I became, apparently, the last person in the country to hear this excerpt from a speech given by Dr. King April 16, 1967: "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice."
It turns out that Dr. King was, in fact, paraphrasing a thinker from an earlier time. Theodore Parker, an antebellum abolitionist minister, said:
I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one, my eye reaches but little ways; I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by the experience of sight; I can divine it by conscience. And from what I see I am sure it bends towards justice. Things refuse to be mismanaged long.
Things refuse to be mismanaged long.
A little time after Dr. King's speech, and death, Kurt Vonnegut reflected on the upcoming Apollo 11 mission in a short story called "Excelsior! We're going to the Moon! Excelsior!":
My brother is partly dependent upon the Navy for funds with which to investigate cloud physics. He was talking recently to a similarly mendicant scientist about the billions invested in space. The colleage said this, wryly: 'For that kind of money, the least they can do is discover God."
Things refuse to be mismanaged long.
According to the National Academy of Sciences, the total cost to the economy of 43 million uninsured is actually higher than the cost of universal health care.
Things refuse to be mismanaged long.
The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.
It turns out that Dr. King was, in fact, paraphrasing a thinker from an earlier time. Theodore Parker, an antebellum abolitionist minister, said:
I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one, my eye reaches but little ways; I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by the experience of sight; I can divine it by conscience. And from what I see I am sure it bends towards justice. Things refuse to be mismanaged long.
Things refuse to be mismanaged long.
A little time after Dr. King's speech, and death, Kurt Vonnegut reflected on the upcoming Apollo 11 mission in a short story called "Excelsior! We're going to the Moon! Excelsior!":
My brother is partly dependent upon the Navy for funds with which to investigate cloud physics. He was talking recently to a similarly mendicant scientist about the billions invested in space. The colleage said this, wryly: 'For that kind of money, the least they can do is discover God."
Things refuse to be mismanaged long.
According to the National Academy of Sciences, the total cost to the economy of 43 million uninsured is actually higher than the cost of universal health care.
Things refuse to be mismanaged long.
The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.
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