The Production Room

The Production Room - New Location & New Contacts

2010-05-29T11:49:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Prince Edward Island, Canada! The new home of John Quimby and The Production Room.

In 1998, my wife, Susan visited the island. Then we returned together (she'd already told me we were moving) in 1999. We bought a farm in the spring of 2000 and we've been spending part of the year (you know, the WARM part) ever since.

In that time I learned to make the studio portable and continued to work for clients (Toshiba, Chevron, Channel Islands National Park, etc.) even as we were spending our summers in the country.

This year we're moving up to stay year 'round and that has meant a few changes at The Production Room. For example, we no longer offer ISDN or studio services in Santa Barbara. But those whom I've worked for in the past will find it just as easy as it ever was to have scripts voiced and audio delivered for production. And I hope to make new friends and clients in media production here in Atlantic Canada.

So here's the rundown of services and contacts:

I'm now available to you for recording and delivering voiceovers - narrations, web media etc.
You can send me scripts for fast turnaround and you can even direct the session by phone if you wish.
All studio gear is professional industry standard and audio quality is excellent.

Voiceover rates are competitive. I have experience on network TV, Radio, Film, Video and Internet.
I'm an award winning copy writer and producer with thousands of commercial productions to my credit.
I have been and will be continuing to write and produce a podcast series and I am familiar with using podcast media in marketing.

Please contact me for schedules, rates and production information:

record@prodroom.com
(902) 962-3755

Starting a Garden? Look For Seeds You Can Save

2010-03-16T10:32:00.000-07:00

(For more news from Dunn Creek Farm - www.dunncreekfarm.blogspot.com)

Hey, I'm not a plant genetics expert and my understanding of the issues around GMO's is limited. I just have some basic concerns about splicing genes from one species into another and hoping that the outcome isn't bad. You know, like a giant fire breathing dinosaur ravaging Charlottetown. That would be bad.

But seriously there are some great reasons to consider your seed sources, even if you're just planting a few tomatoes.

Angus Mellish at Vesey's once asked, "Do you what kind of beans people will be planting this year? The same kind they planted last year." His good natured attitude explains that we all find favorites that we plant year after year. Garden heirlooms become popular again when people re-discover varieties that used to be popular.

A great example of this is the return of the brandywine tomato to commercial seed catalogs.

The brandywine was a commercial variety that was listed in seed catalogs in the 1880's. It came back into the garden in the 1990's, thanks in part to Seed Savers Exchange. These humble seeds were planted every season and saved for over 100 years, then passed to the Seed Savers by an elderly gardener. There are now many sources of this heirloom available, which bring me to where we are in our garden this year.

Part of our challenge every year is meeting the requirement to create a seed search document to prove that we have made an effort to find, purchase and plant organic seeds from approved organic sources. This is much easier than it use to be thanks to the internet and an increase in resources in Canada. But as you'll see, whether you're planting a garden or a few acres, buying quality seed is expensive. Buying certified organic seed is even more expensive. An shipping is...well...not cheap.

So now, here's where GMO, patented seeds, heirlooms and sustainability cross. We have to select organic seeds whenever possible. And we're also investing in seed we can plant, harvest and select for planting next year. It's part of our plan to keep our costs by producing our own seeds on the farm. And we hope it will be our small contribution to creating a stock of seeds that can help feed PEI into the future.

If you're interested in locating and growing certified organics, heritage and open pollinated varieties, you might want to get on the Seed Savers Exchange website and stock up on some varieties to try this summer.

If you find something you like, you can save seeds and save money.

New KJEE Radio Commercial is Pharma Parody

2010-03-10T13:54:00.000-08:00

Been a while since I posted here on the studio blog but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy!
Watch the new KJEE radio commercial I wrote with Ray Pierce at Red Rocket Productions.

I've also been blogging and podcasting at my other blog:
http://www.dunncreekfarm.blogspot.com

And I've been working on several accounts as a voice talent:

Lou Fusz Chevrolet in St. Louis, Mo.
Chumash Casino - Cirque Dreams Illumination
Community West Bank - "Impressions" Radio
Ayers Automotive Repais - TV / Radio

And ISDN session engineering:

CBC Radio 1 "Tapestry"
Applebees Restaurants - John Corbett
KQED / NPR

Contact me for help with your voice overs and media production:
record@prodroom.com

Thanks!

Rob Lowe From Santa Barbara by ISDN

2009-12-22T17:15:00.000-08:00

It's always my goal to have the studio ready before each session. And it's not unusual for me to feel a bit nervous before working on a project like this. Bad things can and do happen.

Today we were scheduled to piggyback two different studio clients recording scripts with Rob Lowe. That meant one session immediately followed by another from two different remote studios on a day that was booked solid.

My work on this session began as soon as the bookings came in several days ago. I made sure scripts were delivered, payment options were locked in, W-9 forms relayed, contracts forwarded and studio engineers ready for dial ups. And I was at the studio early this morning to run ISDN tests before the session. That extra work pays off when the talent steps into the booth and everything is perfect. Thankfully everything was perfect! I enjoyed working with Rob and he was kind enough to record special greetings for several people on the project. He also posed for this snapshot which I forwarded to the clients just a few minutes after the session.

Hear Matthew Stewart via Santa Barbara ISDN On CBC Radio 1

2009-12-08T12:02:00.000-08:00

Once again CBC Radio in Toronto contacted The Production Room in Santa Barbara to provide local ISDN services.

And once again host Anna Maria Tremonti conducted an interview for "The Current".

Our friends in Canada know that The Current airs nationally in Canada and is heard across the country at 8:30 AM
(9 in Newfoundland) on CBC Radio 1 and on Sirius Satellite 137.

Last week, our guest in studio was Matthew Stewart, author of, "The Management Myth. Why The Experts Keep Getting It Wrong." The interview aired as part three of The Current, Monday Dec. 7. You can click the link to hear the fascinating discussion.

I'm also hoping you'll notice the technical quality of the ISDN from Santa Barbara. We've recently switched out our always compatible and lovely sounding Neumann TLM 103 and replaced it with an older Microtech Gefell M900

We mated this unique "large diaphragm" condenser mic with some older outboard gear that had been gathering dust in the closet. Listen to the sound as Matthew Stewart begins speaking. It is rich, full, and pleasing to hear. There is real "presence" in the recording.

It seems we may have fallen for the breathless audio and computer tech hype of the past few years. The idea is that you can plug a digital simulation into your signal path and get, "that classic sound". What we're really getting is homogenized sound as everyone reaches for mass produced hardware with the same digital algorithms instead of plugging in a real classic. For this session we simply used older outboard gear that wasn't built in China and set it up in a very basic configuration.

It might be a bit heavy on proximity effect even though the mic was placed about 7 inches from the subject. But I think it sounds pretty nice. Let me know what you think.

http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/2009/200912/20091207.html

Pirate Radio - The Boat That Sank

2009-12-07T13:06:00.001-08:00

I went to see Pirate Radio (The Boat That Rocked) yesterday with my 17 year old son.

Verdict? I'll have that for you, right after these words...

Boss Radio hit Boss Angeles in the summer of 1965 as Drake/Chenault and Ron Jacobs used 93KHJ to dismantle what had been LA radio. By the end of the year, my home town of Santa Barbara California had it's own top 40 legend, complete with the PAMS jingle package. In those days, 1340 KIST was scoring a 70 share in the local surveys.

Anyway, I was raised on the sounds of Top 40 AM radio on a Montgomery Ward transistor radio smuggled under the covers at 11:00 PM. Years later, I became part of the last wave of top 40 radio when I became a DJ and a program director. I started when I was just 20 and working part time on a Top 40 AM station on the California Coast. I wasn't legal to drink but I had a license to play rock n' roll on KUHL (The Super Cool) radio at 2:00 AM on Saturday nights.

And now about the movie...

The Bad News.

It didn't happen like that. Radio Caroline has a much more interesting story. Too bad they booted it in favor of a fantasy that pales in comparison. The offshore pirates did have a major impact and Brits loved their home grown radio and the American influenced fireworks that followed. But this film isn't doing that any justice.

Philip Seymour Hoffman is a fine actor who absolutely SUCKS in this move. He was badly mis- cast here. He's 43 years old for Christ's sake! Too old to play a rock DJ in 1966 - an era that didn't trust anyone over 30. He should have been 26 and thin as a rail.

The story was re-edited for the American market... but apparently not for coherency. It's a film clipped together from what must have been a fun shoot. And it ends in a tragically over hyped and lame finale. Once again, sticking to the truth would have been better.

The disturbing irony is that this film is a tribute to artistic and cultural freedom that ends up mocking it. It was hacked by the studio to try and salvage box office. In other words this is what the 60's would have looked like if the international entertainment corporations had supervised the birth of R&B. It's clear that the creatives lost. And isn't that what really happened to radio.

The good news.

There ARE bits and pieces worth seeing here. There are moments of what are (or could easily be) radio truth. The cruel groupie. The young man getting laid. The live broadcast of the young man getting laid. The comradeship, the desperate heart break, the ridiculous attitudes, the egos, the outrageous moments that came out live on thousands of watts of radio energy - they were all represented here. Those are things that I saw or participated in as a young DJ. And it was wonderful.

My son liked the movie. He liked the "Young Carl" angle of the story. But as we left the theater I realized another reason why this film struggled to find an audience. Nobody under 30 understands it. How could they?

Remember American Graffitti? All of the cars out cruising on Saturday night had their radios tuned to Wolfman Jack. You could get out of you car and walk around town and you'd still hear the same radio station coming from 100 small speakers all around you. That was rock and roll radio. And for a moment I was part of it.

What Did Obama Say About Afghanistan?

2009-12-02T21:58:00.000-08:00

We have seldom had a president with such command of language. That ability placed him firmly in charge before he was elected. When he went to West Point to speak on the Afghan War, the nation and indeed the world stopped to listen.

I found his speech well constructed and well delivered as always. Barely had he finished speaking than interpretation of his remarks began. It's one of the hazards of instant punditry. When a leader, even a master communicator who knows how to choose his words with precision delivers a clear message the fog of analysis sweeps in immediately to obscure his thoughts. It's an odd effect.

As someone who focuses on communication I listened carefully to the post-speech commentary to find out what Obama had communicated.

The rejection of his message was swift on the left. The right gave it a tepid nod of approval, with several notable exceptions who burst into applause.

Some progressives already frustrated by the pace of reform branded this as the final straw. The policy statement was a sell out of their desire to end both wars and concentrate on their domestic agenda. The speech itself was not well heard.

Some on the right, including Karl Rove, applauded the policy politely while rejecting aspects of the speech itself and it's specific wording. I have the feeling that the right is all too eager for Obama to ante in and double down. This not only shifts the burden of this war to Obama, it validates their point of view after a long period of withering critique.

Overall, the president's verbal power was reflected in our news media which went to 'round the clock discussion and analysis of what he said. In broad terms what he said is in fact policy and what I heard from the public were a variety of coping strategies for dealing with an unpopular war.

Our media and our political ideologues are nationalistic to a fault. No mention was made of the NATO charter or the US call to lead NATO allies in this campaign. No thought was given (until today when Defense Secretary Gates addressed it) about the timetable some of our allies have already adopted for the end of this mission.

So what did the president say about Afghanistan? It depends on whether you stand on the right, the left, or somewhere overseas. The rest remains to be seen.

California Dreamin'

2009-11-19T10:11:00.001-08:00

(NOTE - This post was originally published on the Dunn Creek Farm blog.)

CLICK - HEAR - Today's Podcast

November in California is my favorite time of year. The days are clear and warm, the nights are cool and the tourist traffic is at a minimum.

I was invited by Westlake Audio to come down to Hollywood for a presentation on the newest Source Connect software from Source Elements. It took advantage of the opportunity to drive down the coast and catch up on some of the latest in audio technology.

Along the way, I stopped in at Emma Wood State Beach to check the surf.

A small day at Emma Wood - On the Way to Hollywood.
(click to enlarge)

The Rincon, Ventura County, CA., from Emma Wood.
(click to enlarge)

Westlake Audio. Jeri Palumbo, Rebekah Wilson, John Quimby, Ryan Kahler
(click to enlarge)

I got a personal tour of the software from Rebekah Wilson. The New Zealand native is the architect of the software that allows studios to connect and record or send high quality audio over the internet. Fascinating stuff and part of the learning I intend to bring back to PEI this spring.

Working on the farm isn't just about growing organic vegetables. It's about growing a business and connecting to the outside world as a professional media producer.

A Book No One Has Read Can Make You Famous

2009-11-18T12:42:00.001-08:00

Sarah Palin knocked Miss California's masturbation video off the page this week. (Both replaced the Fort Hood shooting, which arguably was another made for media event.)

It's interesting how similar both stories are and how they illustrate what's happening in the world of infotainment. Carrie Prejean didn't mean to distribute her act of self gratification. Sarah Palin did. And both went viral.

I'm not interested in being critical of either woman. I am interested in the phenomena. Both women scored a media knockout. Both women are in a position to capitalize on instant blazing fame. What will they do now? Will message trump substance?

In the case of Carrie Prejean she stands on a pile of the hottest 'keywords" out there and is sure to generate intense interest because of what she brings to the public square. Consider the words she conjures up: hot babe, boob job, California girl, bikini, conservative, anti gay, Christian, beauty pageant winner, sex videos, topless photos...

Let's face it she is guaranteed traffic - a major attraction. Now will someone please help her GET A GRIP. She's been given super powers. Time to be Wonder Woman.

And then there is the release of the "best seller" that no one has read. Advance orders propelled this book up the charts. So what. Who's actually going to read it? The real news is that Sarah is the talk of every media outlet and blogger in the America-centric universe and she did it by publishing a book about herself.

Like Carrie Prejean, Sarah Palin is a pile of keywords and contradictions that create the kind of dynamic tension and expectation that plays so well on camera. She's a walking sound byte. And she has published her own back story - consisting of just what she wants the public to see. It's brilliant. And her media fan-dance is working.

My point is that both these women have worked to create a public image and then have published (sometimes involuntarily) a narrative that people are eating up. Yes, their entry into the spotlight was big (Miss California, Republican VP candidate) but this is bigger. And now, they have to figure out how to keep publishing, promoting and profiting from the fact that they ARE the news.

Both are relative lightweights who are punching above their weight. They are giving the public the right combination of sex and searchable terminology. It makes them irresistible. But for how long. The question isn't, "Will Sarah Run?" The question is, "Will we still care if she does?" (Even money says Prejean gets interviewed about joining Sarah's team.)

In our current, "pop-culture as news" reality, where real news organizations are weak and wobbly, Carrie Prejean and Sarah Palin have the power to punch out the press. And who wouldn't pay to see that?

Web Marketing in 2010

2009-11-16T12:29:00.000-08:00

We're working with clients who are already looking ahead to 2010.
This week:

- We produce video messages that are inexpensive, easy to create and simple to use.
- We assess your needs and propose solutions.
- We assist your web marketing and web design professionals to include video.

Your Web Video can be built in to your website. It can be linked to a blog. It can be embedded in an e-newsletter. It can be uploaded to your YouTube account. It can be delivered to TV for broadcast. It can be linked to your Facebook page. It works across all media and once it's produced, it can be distributed for free.

The Production Room is based in Southern California. Contact us for local audio and video capture for podcasts and web media.

The Media Tipping Point - Content VS Distribution

2009-11-14T12:59:00.000-08:00

Firesign Theater once put out an album...you know, an album...those funny flat plastic discs that are bigger than CD's. Um, you DO remember CD's right?

Anyway, the album was called "Everything You Know is Wrong".

I mention it because that is precisely where we are in the media world. Everything you've always known about multimedia marketing and advertising is wrong.

Think I'm kidding?

Check out today's story from the AP:

Broadcast pioneer NBC prepares for cable takeover

The headline means that NBC - the company that invented the broadcast network - is about to be taken over by Comcast Cable.

For our purposes, the point of the story is this:

"...By owning more content, Comcast further hedges its bets as mainly a distributor of shows in case viewers ditch their cable TV subscriptions and migrate to the Internet, mobile devices or a platform that has yet to emerge. The company could charge for the shows or sell ads wherever the viewers are."

This should tell you something about the value of content versus the declining value of distribution. And that's why everything you know is wrong.

The Tipping Point

We can read about the actions of media titans, but frankly they aren't leading the trend, they're struggling to keep up. In a media world that is broadcast globally and originated individually it isn't a matter of what happens next in the boardroom, it's what happens next in the bedroom. Just ask Carrie Prejean about the value of personal content distributed globally. And note how, in the context of your awareness, Carrie Prejean's story is equal to major breaking news.

What It Means To You

For 80 years people have made media buys on the basis that distribution to a mass audience is what you pay for in a broadcast schedule. On the local level, if you buy an ad schedule your commercial message production is free! But that's all changing.

In a market where global distribution is free, attracting an audience is a matter of search engine traffic and content has more value than distribution.

This underlines what my clients are learning now. They are finding that they must plan a new annual budget for marketing in a landscape that is changing every day. My advice to you is to get ahead of the curve by doing more to create your own media content. You must become a contributor to your own media. You must tell your own story. There are no longer any limits to distribution and the cost of producing content has dropped for 10 years in a row.

The NBC story marks the end of an era. But don't get hung up on that. The NBC story marks the beginning of a new era and that's what should matter to you.

Beyond SEO - Clients are Optimizing Content

2009-11-02T13:38:00.000-08:00

Today's Web Video Profile 11.02.09

Search Engine Optimization brings customers to your door.
It's up to you to greet them when they get there.

Chevron Oil hires The Production Room for Film Narration

One of the largest oil producers in California, Chevron has extensive operations and training facilities in Bakersfield. John Quimby has recorded narration for two projects associated with Chevron's operations in Bakersfield. The read is very straight, no selling, just facts.

Sample Chevron Narration

Tomatillos on PEI? Yes You CAN

2009-10-30T15:20:00.001-07:00

(This post also appears on the Dunn Creek Farm Blog. We use this blog and our podcast series to promote our farm business and interact with our customers.)

CLICK - HEAR TODAYS PODCAST!

Please enjoy this recipe for authentic Mexican Salsa Verde!

Jane Dunphy prompted this post because she grew tomatillos in her PEI garden this year and has been searching for information about how to use them. Turns out you can freeze them or can them and of course, they make wonderful salsa verde, one of the most popular condiments in Mexico. But all of the ingredients can be grown and used in PEI!

You can simmer your salsa verde with pork to make chile verde or you can bake chicken, shred the meat, cover it with salsa verde and serve with beans and rice. Salsa verde It's spicy but not too hot and the tangy fresh flavor is a delicious change of pace.

Please enjoy!

Ingredients

3 pounds tomatillos, husked, rinsed
2 large jalapeño chiles, stems removed
5 small garlic cloves, peeled

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 bunches fresh cilantro, thick bottom stems trimmed
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Preparation

Mix first 2 ingredients in large saucepan. Cover with water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer until soft, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat; let stand 15 minutes. Drain.

Coarsely chop tomatillo mixture, garlic, and cumin in processor using on/off turns. Add next ingredients; blend until herbs are chopped and salsa is chunky.

Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add salsa and simmer until slightly thickened and reduced to 4 cups, about 10 minutes. Stir in salt.

NOTES: This is a recipe from the web that most closely resembles Monica's description and technique with measures to help you.

You can add other herbs (mint, etc) and lime juice is a common addition too.

Entertainment Based Marketing

2009-10-27T09:43:00.000-07:00

New Elements, New Strategies in New Media

Prod Room produces a radio campaign based on a podcast.

John created the "True Car Stories" concept for Ayers Automotive Repairs several years ago. But sounding "true" with voice actors reading testimonials in a studio was challenging.

A summer road trip and a podcast series changed that. The Production Room hit the road and captured true car stories as they happened. And John demonstrated how easy it is to add reality to a marketing campaign that isn't tied to a studio location or the printed word.

Here are 3 of the radio spots currently running in Santa Barbara:

Ayers Road Trip Radio 01
Ayers Road Trip Radio 02
Ayers Road Trip Radio 03

Contact John Quimby:
record@prodroom.com

A Time for Sponsored Podcasts

2009-09-25T11:35:00.000-07:00

A few years ago I had the idea that a radio series could be produced and commercially sponsored by local clients who need to establish a local brand. I started with my own interest in local history which led me to Barbara Tompkins, widow of one of Santa Barbara's most popular historians and the creator of a long running radio series. It was Mrs. Tompkins herself who reviewed the first scripts and gave her input direction on the project. The demo programs were also reviewed by the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation.

I have adapted material originally presented by Walker Tompkins and others into an entertaining and condensed format that can be easily produced and distributed. The result is "A Time In Santa Barbara", a two minute long audio program that includes a :30 sponsor break.

Though originally conceived as a radio program to fill dead network breaks with local, sponsored content, this feature is also suitable as web content. And while the program was created to strengthen a local institution (in this case a bank) It could be easily structured to promote interests such as a hotel, a conference center, a winery or even the County of Santa Barbara itself. Because every effort is made to present information that is factual and historically accurate, these stories can also be used to illustrate California History in local schools.

I invite you to listen to the demo tracks linked below and enjoy these true stories about Santa Barbara County. If you are interested in knowing more about A Time in Santa Barbara, please contact me at The Production Room (805) 563-0346 or email: 2prodroom@gmail.com

Click the links below to hear, "A Time In Santa Barbara" DEMO TRACKS

1) Tecolote Tunnel

2) Pearl Chase

3) El Capitan

Production Room Service Update

2009-05-16T14:00:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Prodroom North. I'm in Prince Edward Island, Canada and the good news is that the studio here is all ready to continue production work for our clients.

Even more good news is that high speed wireless is now online here so sending and receiving media files is as fast and easy as it is at the Studio in SB.

I've also hired some help in Santa Barbara to continue providing studio services there, so our ISDN business will continue to be available and supported on demand. Booking service is as easy as sending an email to me: 2prodroom@gmail.com

Or you can call the Production Room at the local nimber: (805) 455-5134 and it will forward to my mobile phone here. And since the studio here in Canada is no longer using dialup, you can call the studio directly at (902) 962-3755. If I'm not in, please leave a message.

I have a fully equipped room here for voice tracking, editing, mixing and delivery of finished audio. The studio features some benefits we don't have yet in SB. We have a really sweet focusrite mic pre-amp which tracks audio to directly to a digital input on the computer for a very clean signal. It sounds great! I'm using our very nice Microtech Gefell microphone for voice recording and I also have the same complete music and sound effect library we use in SB.

I've brought our production archive here too, so we can update exisiting production for you from this location and deliver revised production to you.

Basically, anything I can do in Santa Barbara, I can do here - at the same level of professional quality you expect.

Email is the same as always, and is probably the best way to reach me. Keep in mind that I'm four hours ahead of Santa Barbara, which often helps me deliver completed production faster. And since I'm able to finish and deliver production while the west coast is still asleep, it's likely that your finshed production will be on your desktop when you arrive at work the next day.

I am continuing production on our new weekly podcast series for the Homecast Show, a daily podcast from Los Angeles. And I'll be working on new projects for the 5 Minute Media Manager on this page.

For more about our location this summer, please visit: http://www.dunncreekfarm.blogspot.com

Thanks!

On the road to Canada

2009-05-06T20:31:00.000-07:00

For continuing pictures and stories from our road trip please visit:
http://www.dunncreekfarm.blogspot.com

On Route 66 from Albuquerque NM to El Reno OK

2009-05-03T21:23:00.000-07:00

Please follow our trip with more picture from the road at:

http://dunncreekfarm.blogspot.com

Thanks!

The Production Room is happy to help you with your projects and studio services while I'm on the road.

Day Two - We Turn Left at Albuquerque

2009-05-02T21:19:00.000-07:00

Saturday, May 2

We started off this morning from Scottsdale Arizona. My brother in law, Tom Frazier and I, checked that all systems were go for the road.

Then we were off and running toward Albuquerque. North from Scottsdale to Flagstaff, Winslow, Gallup and into New Mexico. We detoured onto the old Route 66 at sunset for the run to town. We had planned to go all the way to Tucumcari but we just couldn't push that far today. We did have some fun though...

We Stopped around mid-day on the Yavapai Apache Reservation to visit the ancient cliff dwellings.

Then we detoured off the I-40 to Winslow on the old Route 66...

We're stopped in Moriarty New Mexico. It's late. I'm pooped. We have another long day tomorrow.

The Adventure of a Lifetime a Lifetime of Adventure

2009-04-30T12:55:00.000-07:00

I was pleased to visit once again with Jean Michel Cousteau in the studio today. He was a guest of the BBC and presenter Nick Haslam. Nick interviewed him for an hour about his life, his father and his work. It was fascinating. Mr. Cousteau was relaxed but ready to speak clearly and passionately. He told some marvelous stories about his life aboard Calypso as a 13 year old boy with his 10 year old brother. To have been part of his father's voyages of discovery in the 1950's and 60's and to be part of the crew was obviously transformational for Jean Michel.

This was real adventure in an age when communication from across the world was by morse code and the ship stayed at sea for many months. And no one knew what they would find out there. "As my father said, 'If I knew what I was gonna find I wouldn't go'."

I'll post the link to the BBC interview when it becomes available.

And this week, I'm heading off on my own adventure with a portable Production Room. I'm driving from Santa Barbara to Prince Edward Island, on the east coast of Canada in a 1965 GMC pickup truck. I'll be posting updates so you can follow along the way. There will be a podcast updating the trip and Ayers Automotive Repairs, the shop that does all my service and maintenance, is going to run radio commercial updates from the road.

And what will we discover along the way from the southwest to the northeast? If I knew I wouldn't go.

Ten Four Eleanor! So Long Steve Gordon!

2009-04-13T17:06:00.000-07:00

"These Suck!" doesn't really fully detail the craptiousness here...

-Eleanor Roosevelt

At the risk of hurting someone's feelings at the Santa Barbara Chamber of Commerce, this was Steve Gordon's evaluation of radio scripts he was bidding to produce for the Chamber at the end of January. He had emailed them to me for review and asked me to bid on re-writing them for production. He was proposing a collaboration. It would have been our last but he didn't get the job. And there it all is in a nutshell.

The blunt (and correct) evaluation of the scripts - linked to the email sign-off from Mrs. Roosevelt is vintage Steve. He was absolutely honest in his evaluations but he loved to leave 'em laughing. I think he found the world to be absurd. He understood that taking the world seriously was fine as long as you realized its absurdities were seriously amusing.

Steve was a Libertarian who used to love to taunt my liberal sensibilities with editorial content from the CATO institute and Glenn Beck (before Beck went totally insane...) We had more than a few rounds on society and politics which I appreciated because I enjoy that sort of thing. Unfortunately, Steve shared commonality with a large population of gracelessly aging, despondent white males who find themselves left behind, broke and bitter, unwilling to yield their independence but unable to fight for it.

Steve ended his life as a brilliant man. As a brilliant man he ended his life as an under employed, under appreciated casualty of change. I've seen more than a few of the walking wounded come out of radio in the last 15 years...and you know who you are. The death of radio has killed or crippled more than a few of the brilliant people I love dearly. The survivors carry scars you can't see because radio is not a visual medium.

The pictures here are from what some people have told me was the best party they've ever been to. Certainly it was the best party I've ever hosted.

In January of 2007, we sent out a tarot card image of the Magician to invite our guests to an open house for creative talent, clients, marketing executives and a cross section of the community. We demonstrated the magic of our ISDN studio with a live studio link to San Francisco and Los Angeles. We played a hilarious short film Steve had worked on in the studio. We showed a rich media web site from the Beatles that showed the direction we knew our clients should embrace as the future of communications media. At the after party, we turned up the music and we DANCED!

There was live music and food and there was video on every screen. There was a close-up magician and a hand writing analyst. It a was a memorable and magical alchemy of the sacred and profane, of technology and artistry and the vibe of unlimited possibility hummed above all. I see these pictures now of Steve in his favorite position, at the console.

Sadly my old studio is gone. That desk which I built with my own hands in my dead father's workshop is gone. Steve is gone. All gone because the world changed. Gone because the only work we knew is gone. Gone because we couldn't afford to make them stay. Gone because we didn't need them any more. Gone because they could go no further in this world.

People say after they lose a limb or a physical part of themselves that they feel phantom pain as if the limb were still there. These are my limbs. These are my phantoms.

Steve lived the way he died. He made his own terms and stuck to 'em in a world that no longer cared to negotiate. He was a hostage to fortune who drew the short straw one too many times.

The Firesign Theater created an alternative reality in sound. Steve and I spent hours in their expansive theater of the mind. Put on some old Firesign and maybe you'll find Steve. Clever, ironic, brillliant, cerebral, silly and decidedley off the Interstate in an alternate Universe.

Steve's still part Nick Danger and part George Tirebiter. A tarnished star, a hapless bit player, a cool film noir detective down on his luck. Just listen. Somewhere between Heater and Hellmouth, Spud Coolzip is cruising to Three Finger Mickey's in search of the answers.

How To Make Money With Online Media

2009-04-02T11:59:00.000-07:00

Check out the little widget below from feedburner...

↑ Grab this Headline Animator

By clicking on this widget you can select a 5 Minute Media Manager podcast to hear. You could also use it to add The 5 Minute Media Manager to your blog or other online content.

The 5 Minute Media Manager series is designed to be short, useful and targeted to business people, professionals and accomplished individuals who want to profit from using their social networks, blogs and websites.

Podcast 012 - Profit from Promotion - will tell you how I've been using my online presence to build business and make money. Is that worth 5 minutes of your time?

You can design and program a blog page that delivers your message through your media.
To find out more, contact The Production Room.

Obama and the Media - A Full Court Press

2009-03-25T08:33:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I wrote on the president and his communication-media-political style. Last night's 1 hour press conference with 300 reporters was a high profile display of how the President of the United States chooses to communicate and what the media reports about it. So I have some thoughts on form and substance (or lack thereof).

The Message:

The president restated his position and elaborated on the need for spending on education, energy and health care. He did a great job of staying on message for the full hour and provided details as he answered questions from the press. He was particularly effective at explaining why investing in future growth was required to lower the deficit. He very nearly quoted Reagan circa 1982 in his call for cutting taxes, eliminating government waste and increasing deficit spending.

The President and the Prompter:

He looked a bit tired...it was the end of a long day. He was criticized almost immediately on the use of the teleprompter in the back of the room. The image makers at the White House were no doubt trying to deal with the recurring conservative meme about Obama being unable to speak without a teleprompter. So they took the small screen from his face and moved it away from the cameras.

I'm willing to bet that Obama hates the teleprompter. Unlike Bush, he doesn't need one in order to speak clearly or coherently. Obama is a master of delivery and the prompter is a distraction that breaks his rhythm. I've used a teleprompter and it essentially makes you read a script into a TV camera. It tends to make you look as though you are reading a prepared statement - because you are. What he has probably learned (and been told) is that the teleprompter is there to help him remember the key points, names, dates and figures he needs for greater impact on the national debate. I think we'll see him improve. Meantime, the White House should disregard the critics and let their man work.

Press Reports Top Story of 2009: The Press!

It's amazing to me that one of last night's first headlines on Huffington Post pointed at another post on Politico, reporting that the President didn't call on the Washington Post or the New York Times.

HUH?

On the day the president re-affirmed his vision of a transformative economic agenda, the top story is: one media outlet covering another media outlet covering other media outlets.
(HELLO HEllo Hello hello! There's an ECHO ECho Echo echo!)

The press really loves the sound of it's own voice.

The Political Bout - President Ahead on Points

On :60 Minutes, Steve Croft asked, "Are you punch drunk?" Let's take that fight analogy to the press conference. I watched the full conference then looked at the transcript of a live blog on the Washington Post.

President Obama did two things that showed his control of the Press and the Opposition.

1) The president was asked whether or not he would sign a bill that did not include several of the budget items he has asked for. He patiently explained to the press why he wouldn't comment on signing legislation that hasn't been written yet. He has a backhanded way of scolding the press for not asking smart questions.

Bush used to tell the press what he was going to sign becuase he already knew what the White House had directed Republicans to pass. Then they'd give a press release to the media. Obama appears content to propose legislation and then wait for the legislative process to deliver a bill to his desk. This means Congress has to work harder and so does the political press.

2)He repeatedly hit GOP critics for leaving a record deficit and being unable to deliver an alternative budget plan.

On this point, conservatives are stuck. The WaPo blog comments I read last night illustrate why. They howl about Obama leading us to more government intervention but they won't propose an alternative because they can't without contradicting their own rigid ideology or acknowledging their own political failure.

Being opposed to all government solutions means being incapable of imagining any government solutions. Obama knows that they are in a logic trap while people are looking to him for answers.

The Strategy:

Team Obama may not be smart enough to create it's own opportunities, but it is smart enough to sieze them. Secretatry Geithner was on the Hill yesterday explaining why the treasury needs more regulatory power to deal with investment firms. Obama repeated that position last night when talking about the banks and answering a question about AIG.

The outrage over AIG has created the perfect setup for bi-partisan support of market regulation; something that would have been impossible in February. Populist outrage will give GOP members all the cover they need to put those greedy bankers in their place.

In response, an AIG VP publicly resigned in bitter protest this morning. Gee. And after all you guys did for us too.

Sorry Mr. DeSantis, there are no blue collar equity traders. You had opportunities like few others. That includes a chance to yell, "take this job and shove it!" in the New York Times.

FINALLY

After town hall meetings, Leno, :60 Minutes and a nationally televised press conference, the president still has a long way to go to convince Congress. But he apparently scored with the public. He may have a problem with financial capital, but not with political capital. And Steve Croft - there's a reason Obama is laughing. He's the only heavyweight champion in a division of lightweights. Real Politics shows him at 67% approval.

Sweet Dreams Down Under With Robert Bosnak

2009-03-08T19:01:00.000-07:00

I haven't done a live airshift since 1995 but I still have dreams about being on the radio.

I'm on the air doing my DJ shift and the song on the air is beginning to fade. That's when I realize I have nothing cued up to play next and no idea what to say. That actually happened a few times while I was awake and the feeling is enough to give a person nightmares. We started on a similar note on this ISDN connection to Australia - when technical problems had us stumped.

The mix of dreaming and consciousness and the space in between has fascinated human beings for quite a long time. Psychoanalyst Robert Bosnak, believes we can consciously work inside of those dreams in that strange space. I was introduced to Mr. Bosnak, thanks to The ABC - that's the Australian Broadcasting Company - which invited Mr. Bosnak to guest on their program, "All In The Mind" using ISDN studio service from The Production Room in Santa Barbara.

The Interview was conducted by Natasha Mitchell, a journalist and ABC presenter with a depth of experience.

You can listen to her interview titled, "Dreams - The Body Alive" on "All InThe Mind". You can also read Ms. Mitchell's blog and listener comments about the program. I don't know if Ms. Mitchell has dreams about radio, but she came to her interview prepared to explore their nebulous nature.

Mr. Bosnak has written an internationally well received book that just might interest someone who'd like a brief course on dream work. You can review excerpts of his book, "A little Course In Dreams" at Amazon's online reader.

I'm honored by the opportunity to provide links that connect interesting people I'd never meet were it not for the larger world and the curiosity of the people in it. I hope you'll listen to to this example of radio Australia's excellent reporting and the latest on dream work from Mr. Bosnak.

Barbie Turns 50 - ISDN Connects NPR On Point

2009-02-16T15:28:00.001-08:00

Robin Gerber is a keynote speaker and the author of several books, including, "Barbie and Ruth - The Story of the World's Most Famous Doll and the Woman Who Created Her".

And that's why Tom Ashbrook wanted to speak to her. Tom is the host of NPR's "On Point" which is produced at WBUR in Boston.

On Thurs., Feb 12, Robin Gerber was connected by our ISDN studio-to-studio link for a one hour live segment.

You can link to the show segment called "Barbie Turns 50"

It's an interesting conversation about about a woman, a toy, an icon and an image that continues to play a significant role in the world. And it all came from the imagination of Ruth Handler Elliot, founder of one of America's great companies.

The Production Room is an approved provider of ISDN service to NPR network programs and producers. We use the Telos Zephyr XStream codec to convert analog signal (such as a voice) into an mp3 digital signal that streams over digital phone lines (ISDN). A second codec on the other end converts the mp3 digital signal back into analog sound - in real time. When you listen to the show, it will sound as if Robin Gerber was in Boston.

Our ISDN studio service allows professionals in our area to guest on programs, narrate commercial or films, deliver interviews or be part of media productions anywhere in the world - without leaving town.

For more examples of our service, subscribe to this blog. For a booking inquiry, please email
The Production Room (2prodroom@gmail.com)

And now, here's a little video artifact from YouTube to enjoy:

Why Obama's Identification With Lincoln Matters

2009-02-11T21:46:00.000-08:00

On the surface it seems obvious. Even poetic. The African American man, married to the descendant of American slaves and their children are living in the White House. The realization of Dr. Kings dream is also the redemption of the 16th President, who chose to change a war for Union into a war for freedom.

As a counterpoint, there is also the use of the abbreviation, Neo-Con to describe the deep opposition to this president and everything he stands for. The modern translation of this abbreviation is Neo-Conservative. But I prefer to think of it as Neo Confederate.

The Lincoln / Confederate divide is very much present in our news today. And the danger it represents to our Union is just as real.

President Obama is a Lincoln Republican. He's a lawyer, a brilliant orrator and a disciplined campaigner who belives in the Republic and the Union over all. The libertarian mind that saw no trouble with the elite slave owning class in an unregulated market fought any government move to end their special interest. They are very much alive and with us today as well.

While some are romanced by Lincoln's apparent liberalism, it's important to see that he was a very skilled railroad lawyer who represented corporate interests and became wealthy defending thier interests. He knew how to adress the common people in the words of their democratic ideals. But he also made the industrialists rich.

We don't know yet how President Obama will prcoeed, but in his first weeks he has skillfully managed the Congress and moved to find the new political center of America. He doesn't look like the scary socialist that some are afraid of. He looks more like the kind of leader who knows that he can gather support from both extremes and strengthen the center - where he knows how to operate.

Lincoln was very similar. In raising an army to enforce Federal law in the southern states he saw many states rise up to secession. But he also managed to hold slave territory in the Union.

In passing a bill to fund economic recovery, President Obama has seen much of the populace rise up and demand that GOP leaders refuse the stimulus package - almost as if it were an insult. But he managed to hold a few in the center. And he will strengthen the center to make room for more.

Deep within the struggle for this vote is a country in an ideological Civil War during an economic crisis. We are in desperate trouble.

I can only hope that this President is equal to the man he admires.

Happy Birthday Mr. Lincoln.

"Los Primeros" Film Premiere in Santa Barbara

2009-02-10T13:25:00.000-08:00

Last Friday night Susan and I spent the evening in celebration of old California.

There are those who say that the golden age of California wasn't the 1930's or the 1960's. It was the 1840's - before the gold rush that changed everything.

That era has been part of the romance of the Golden State ever since the 1920's when the mission architectural style became part of the landscape and silent films like "The Mark Of Zorro" with Douglas Fairbanks introduced the Romantic image of Alta California to the world.

So, in a semi glittered and western attired crowd we met in the heart of Old Santa Barbara at El Paseo and mingled with some of the oldest families in the State. We were invited to see the newly restored "Ranchero Room", traditional headquarters of the famous (and infamous) Rancheros Visitadores. The room is decorated with original western art painted directly on the white washed surface of the interior walls.

But I digress...

What the Spanish established and cultivated in California still exists, despite the distortions of Hollywood or the arrival of the worlds' elite.

That is the story told in a series of films by Susan Jensen and Paul Singer. In Los Primeros, they show us the origins of Vaquero culture in Spain, it's movement to the new world 500 years ago and it's eventual spread from the great Haciendas in Old Mexico to the Grand Mexican Ranchos of Alta California.

The 1840's must have been a great time to be a wealthy patron - to be independent and self sufficient in a place with generous resources and Mediterranean climate. History informs us that it was also a lonely frontier and that there were winners and losers in the fight for this land. After the Gold Rush, many Mexican families were themselves displaced and many were bitter over the loss of property and status. Hence a nostalgia for the "Old California" that was lost to the Anglo Americans.

But the remarkable footage in Los Primeros vividly depicts a way of life that is still found on California's ranches today. We see glimpses of what was, and of what was lost.

The care, the elegance and the technical quality of the California horseman has made me appreciate the difference between "Vaquero" and the generic term "western" when it comes to equestrian style. There is a lot in this film the for those like me who enjoy picking the brains of those who know the old ways. For others, the details of technique and gear may be a little too much.

Even so, the film makes much of the people we meet along the way from Spain, to Mexico to the Pacific Coast. It's easy to see that their music and stories come from the heart and I felt a warmth for them and from them throughout the film. This is a tribute to Susan and Paul, who approached a normally reluctant group of very private and often maligned people and allowed them to speak of honor and traditions that have passed from hand to hand for generations.

The story of the West can be dismissed as dime novel fiction. Or it can be read as prelude to the issues we face today. In this film we are reminded again that American culture is not solely the East to West migration of Europeans. The New World mixing of Spanish, Mexican, Indian and American skills and traditions created a unique bond between people, the land and the horse.

UPDATE - 02.11.09

To purchase your copy of "Los Primeros" on DVD visit: J&S Productions
You'll also find information about the other films in the Vaquero series including:
Tapadero, The Remuda, Holo Holo Paniolo and Houlihan

Super Model, Super Mom, Super Nice

2009-01-30T19:39:00.000-08:00

Kathy Ireland came into the studio at The Production Room in Santa Barbara today to record 4 new radio commercials for her company, Kathy Ireland World Wide. Then we began recording her new audio book, Real Solutions for Busy Moms: Your Guide to Success and Sanity.

We've worked together in the studio several times over the years. Kathy is a Santa Barbra native who's right at home around town. She still lives here with her husband, Greg and their three children. Working at the Prodroom keeps her close to home and family which is clearly her choice since she could work anywhere she wanted to.

She is very tall, and I had to re-arrange the booth to allow her to sit upright on a stool and later, to stand as she read. She is very focused and she powered through pages of material that might have left another talent gasping for air.

Kathy is a committed Christian who shares her compassion for working moms, her good sense about living well and her active faith with readers and listeners. While some might find it odd that a woman they know primarily from swimsuit photos is so strong on faith and life affirming values, it actually is in keeping with who she is and why she has remained healthy and grounded in her home town with her family.

We should all mature so well!

The print version of her book will be available on April 7. Pick up the audio book after it is released and you'll hear the work Kathy recorded here today.

The Homecast Show - A Podcast That Works

2009-01-15T09:31:00.000-08:00

You might know that I spent a few odd years in radio. Yes, I do mean odd.

During that time I learned to love the medium and I worked with a lot of really cool people. One of those people contacted me this week. Liz Fulton, who you may remember from the news room at KTMS, Y-97 and K-lite radio in Santa Barbara, or from her run with Rick Dees on KiiS FM in Los Angeles.

Liz has re-connected with several of her underemployed radio pals and with Danny Lemos at the helm of "The Homecast Show" they are creating a daily podcast that is smart, funny and nicely paced. This is a podcast made by professionals.

I've written before about podcasting, and described what makes most podcasts horrible. I'm so pleased to have a positive example to share. Whether you're interested in creating daily podcasts, image and marketing content, or training/informational programs, you need to listen to this program for ideas.

Better yet, why not BUY this show?

The Green Revolution Starts Now

2009-01-14T11:14:00.000-08:00

Note: This was written on Jan. 11 for my Dunn Creek Farm blog.

Barack Obama is setting his course in a radical new direction.
As he takes office on January 20th, he'll be holding most of the cards of his "New Deal" close to his vest. We aren't sure what his program will actually look like. But we do know that the issues of global climate change, North America's energy future and international security are on the table.

While each of these issues has been part of the political discussion for many years, my sense is that this will be the first time that ALL of them will be unified by a single major policy maker who has a popular mandate to take action. The resulting period of change could be deep and long lasting.

The political risks are equally large. Attempts to form policy on the incremental issues have failed internationally. Technical, Economic and Ideological limitations have doomed previous attempts to deal with climate and energy issues. That's why I believe that this is the moment for sweeping change. President Elect Obama has made cabinet appointments that show he is preparing to seize the moment. Green energy will finally get a green light.

When Canada's Liberal Leader, Stephan Dion, ran for Premier last Fall, he did so on an agenda that included sweeping reform to reduce Canada's carbon emissions. He must have believed that Canadians in general support high environmental standards and would therefore support his plan. It didn't work out that way. Voters sensed economic panic and couldn't quite fathom how his complicated carbon tax would deliver positive results. There was another problem. Canada is now one of the largest petroleum exporting countries in the world. One hand simply doesn't wash the other.

President Bush also dealt with the questions of sustainable energy, security and the environment in a piecemeal fashion. The result was a sidestep of the Kyoto protocol and the deployment of about a third of Americas' military assets to the Middle East. We have ground troops throughout the region and at least 1 Navy Carrier group in the Persian Gulf at all times. All to guarantee the status quo in global energy markets. The argument for this policy is based on the ideology that government doesn't provide for people, private enterprise does. Therefore, the government should protect private enterprise.

Obama seems to have a very different outlook. He realizes that we don't have to deploy our military to protect a pipeline that sucks oil at one end and our wealth at the other, IF we can develop a sustainable, secure domestic energy industry AND reduce our greenhouse emissions while boosting our economy. He's going to hire the private sector to deliver a tri-fecta.

Some people here in the States are screaming that the Obama plan is socialist. These same people saw no problem with starting a war and then funding private enterprise to run it with no bid contracts. Haliburton was hired on a blank check mission because it was,"the only company big enough to handle the job". Conservatives and Libertarians are now demanding that there be a "market based solution" to the problem. Well frankly, at this time there is no private or international entity who can meet our need for increasing domestic energy supplies for the next 200 years. And there won't be unless we invest in our own interests.

Last week Vladimir Putin brought Europe to it's knees by shutting off one pipeline. If they didn't know it before, the EU knows now that it is vulnerable. On the current basis, NATO can't guarantee security or stability in Europe unless it intends to invade Russia. The whole global free trade initiative was trumped by the Russian gas company.

This "tweak" at NATO weakness and the conflicts that tie our hands in Iraq, Afghanistan etc. are just a few of the reasons that the table is set for Obama to orchestrate change.

Dishing with the Executive Chef

2009-01-13T12:34:00.000-08:00

Foodies will know that Cat Cora is the the first woman to win Iron Chef America. She is also the current Executive Chef of Bon Appetit Magazine. She's written two books, just opened a new SoCal Restaurant and happened to be in the studio at The Production Room Santa Barbara yesterday, recording a promotional announcement for "Vegas Uncorked" featuring 4 days of events with celebrity chefs and vintners.

As we were setting up the session with David Miller at R&R Partners in Las Vegas, I had a few moments to visit the chef.

She is petite, attractive, fit and has a bit of intensity about her. She came in ready to work. As we set up I told her that I grow organic produce on a farm in Canada. I asked her what she'd like to find in the farmer's market. She opened up and shared some really great suggestions with me. She likes to work with what she finds in the local markets.

We talked about baby herbs, french carrots, baby beets, mixed greens and fava beans. She asked what we grew and I described the mix of fun and gourmet varieties we usually plant along with down home favorites like peas and potatoes.

Cat is a southern girl. Her voice retains a hint of the deep southern notes of Jackson Mississippi and her manner caries a bit of old southern hospitality. Along with her modern style, she's the traditional voice that says, "Here. Y'all come and eat."

I appreciated finding that her approach is very much in tune with what's fresh and local. No need to fly in baby artichokes from Argentina when the local market has other interesting choices to work with.

For me, preparing and eating food is the natural result of growing and harvesting crops. And part of what I'm doing is working to create sustainable farms and local markets by simply providing all the ingredients of a really good meal.

Triumph of the W

2009-01-13T08:34:00.000-08:00

My Commemorative Remarks on the Occasion of the End of the Bush Presidency

By John Quimby

It wasn't easy. It was hard work.
Yes, through hard work and solid determination, George Bush has forever lowered the requirements and claimed the title of, "Worst President of All Time".

Quite an achievement for a wealthy man who was sort of from West Texas. A man who learned early on that he didn't actually have to work for a living.

But now, the public hushes, and we speak in reverent tones as the man himself lowers himself even further to take a final bow when surely none are needed.

I know that the Detroit Lions are glad this day that no one can ever take away their title by losing more football games in a single season. And who can predict another epic failure like New Coke or Windows Vista?

But the sad truth for Mr. Bush is that one day, somehow, we will have a president who is an even bigger loser than he is.

It won't be hard to find that person, because I know that someone out there has the grit, fortitude and American determination to take the Presidency to a new level of arrogance, blind ambition and stupidity.

And so tonight, in the dim awareness of a blindly led Republic, former Hall of Fame greats like James Buchanon and Warren G. Harding shine a little less brightly in the Presidential pantheon of losers.

For tonight they await the arrival of their new champion.

I'll watch the prime time event. I just hope I don't cry.

Bail Out or Re-Program - Obama's Plan For Detroit

2008-12-15T19:20:00.000-08:00

You might have missed this speech.

President Elect Obama gave it back in May of '07 in Detroit in front of Auto Industry execs. and city leaders when he wasn't considered a serious hope for the White House.

If you want to know what he said he will do with the auto industry as president, check out the speech linked below.

You'll notice that there is silence and reserve and discomfort in the room as this man, our new president, says exactly what he thinks is wrong with Detroit.

Keep in mind how far ahead of the time he was.

Watch and smile!

Please note Obama's use of the phrase, "Tyranny of Oil" and compare that with his current nominations for cabinet positions.

UPDATE 1.15.09

Please notice Obama's use of the phrase, "Tyranny of oil" in this speech, and compare that with his current cabinet nominees in energy and the environment.

The Last Debreifing of Bill Boyd

2008-11-20T19:19:00.000-08:00

I took this job for love. There was no money.

A woman I know, a talented producer and director I have worked with over the the past several years, needed a favor.

Her father, Bill Boyd, is getting up in years. He's 86 years old now.
As a young man of 22 he was a bombardier in a B-17 with the 8th Air Force flying missions in World War II over Germany. On his 18th mission, he was shot down, wounded by flack and captured on the ground. He spent the rest of the war in a German POW camp. And after years of keeping his story to himself, telling bits and pieces of it to family and other veterans of the war, he was ready to tell his war story on camera. His daughter said to me, "Dads still real sharp, but now is the time." Knowing my love of history, she asked me if I would interview him.

How could I say no?

I know my American History pretty well. I knew I could help him tell his narrative. But we wanted something more personal. We wanted to look inside the man who went to war, came home and raised his family. We wanted a document that included background and details that would help future generations and historians put a face on the dry text of history. And I wanted the details that are often not recorded. Details so ordinary in the moment, that they become lost in later interpretation. Anyone who has talked to veterans of that war know those details and inside looks are hard to get. But Bill was ready to tell it and I wanted to help him.

We talked for almost 10 hours over two days and the whole of our conversation was recorded on HD video at Brent Sumner's studio in Santa Barbara. What came out was what historians would call an "excellent primary source". What I heard was a remarkable story told by an honorable and humble man.

Even after all the years that have passed, Bill has an amazing memory for dates, places, people and names. For his own reasons he memorized an incredibly detailed record of his life. As I probed for memories, emotions, background details and stories, more would come pouring out.

The hours of Bill's last debriefing will one day be edited and produced into a documentary film. Some will remain as a priceless record for genealogists to come. Some will help tell the story of the American Air Force in Europe. And some will help us understand who we were as a people in 1944, and after the war.

I scratched notes as we talked, questions to ask that would illuminate the man and the record. As the son of a WWII veteran, I probed for insights into the man who raised his children after the war. And as the product of the modern era, I looked for reasons to label his actions in ways I could understand and relate to my own contemporary understanding. What I found went beyond those meanings to the truth I sensed he was telling about himself, about his war and about how it had affected him.

I won't relate all of his adventures here. They're exciting alright, but the deeper message moved me more.

Several times I asked him about his feelings. About his duty, about the missions, about bailing out of a dying B-17 near the Swiss border. He answered honestly each time. But at one point he began to talk about fear. He said he was afraid on every mission. But what he was most afraid of was failing. He was most afraid of letting down the men who depended on him to do his job. And in that emotion was a key to what I've heard so many times. "I'm not a hero. I was just doing the best I could to do my job. There were a lot of other guys over there doing the same thing."

Nothing special. Just a guy doing his job.

On a day in the summer of 1944 over Germany that job got pretty tough. In five minutes, flack bursts turned the aluminum hull of the "Strictly From Hunger" into a sieve. Off target, leaking gas and with engines dying, Bill found his bomb sight blown to pieces, he snuffed smoldering electrical wiring with his fingers and realized that a bit of red hot shrapnel had pierced through his shoulder.

The ball turret gunner came forward, cut open Bill's flight suit, gave him a shot of morphine and bandaged his wound. Then, because his right arm was numb, the gunner strapped Bill's parachute upside down on him so he could pull the cord with his left arm. Bill exited the plane from the forward escape hatch and he fell as far as he could before pulling the ripcord. The whole crew got out. Half didn't survive on the ground.

Just a guy doing his job.

Modern people are so complicated. We look so deep for answers and examine every detail. A difficult time called for simpler answers.

In the POW camp, Bill said, "You got to tell your horror story once. Then nobody wanted to hear it anymore. Everbody had one. You got to tell yours once."

This week Bill got to tell it again. In the studio we asked him to please tell it all. Because we all need to hear it.

Zawahiri Appoints House Negro

2008-11-19T15:59:00.001-08:00

MSNBC REPORTS:

Al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri has criticized President-elect Barack Obama, calling him a demeaning racial term implying that Obama is a black American who does the bidding of whites.

In an audio message which appeared on militant Web sites Wednesday, al-Zawahri said that Obama is “the direct opposite of honorable black Americans” like Malcolm X. He called Obama a “house negro.”

With all the excitement and speculation about the new administration and Obama's picks for the cabinet it's understandable that Mr. al-Zawahiri would get carried away and make his predictions too.

But on November 4th, the American people elected Barack Obama to be master of the house. And as it looks today, either Hillary Clinton or Bill Richardson will be the house negro.

While al-Zawahiri's pick may have been off the mark and displayed a lack of understanding of American politics and government, he does have the distinction of making a remarkably original point.

Not even in the heat of the contest did evil terrorist Sean Hannity suggest that Barack Obama did the bidding of white people. Perhaps his eyes are open now!

UPDATE: WHITE HOUSE CONFIRMS "HOUSE NEGRO" IS NOT A CABINET POSITION

So Long Don. See You on the Internets

2008-11-19T12:52:00.001-08:00

Don Frederick has left the building.

He's been downsized over at the LA Times political blog, "Top of the Ticket"

Top of the ticket was one of my favorite places to read political comment starting late last winter. Don Frederick worked out of the LA Times Washington Bureau and fellow blogger Andrew Malcolm worked form an undisclosed location.

Both wrote brilliant coverage during the Democratic primary season. After the general election, they continued to lead the news with commentary, though I began to read them in terms of left and right. Don always seemed to "get it" in my view; a sure sign that he is in fact a biased news source with a left wing radical agenda...my kinda guy!

Andrew Malcom, whom I respect, once earned my wrath for publishing a totally bogus conservative hit piece on Canadian abortion policy. It was retracted by the Times and corrected on the blog, which I thanked them for.

Now the election is over and the recession has pulled up to the front door. The Times are cutting staff. Mr. Frederick has taken a buy out and is moving on. But you know, when a radio station I worked for was automated so that the air staff could be fired a friend of mine said, "You can't replace somebody with nobody." Since nobody at the newspaper could figure out how to monetize Don Frederick with ads from the strip clubs near LAX, cuts had to be made.

And so, Andrew Malcolm and Top of the Ticket - you have my best wishes. But this would seem to be the wrong year to have your political blog equal the sound of one hand clapping. In a year when the political tide has clearly turned do I want only the perspective of an establishment conservative in exile? Or do I want to know what the government is actually doing.

Good luck Don, let us know where you land.

Awful Good to be Home

2008-11-19T10:51:00.001-08:00

Born and raised in the San Roque neighborhood of Santa Barbara, product of northside public schools (Peabody and La Colina) and Bishop Diego High School, I've seen a lot of things change.

The fire this week sort of brought me back home again. Sometimes I need to touch base with the comforts of home to know who I am and where I belong.

I was trying to write a script this morning but I couldn't seem to focus. So I got in the car, drove down to State Street and went to the post office to check the mail. I ran into local vaquero and Jedlicka's store owner Si Jenkins. "How's your house Si?" I asked. "Oh, fine" he said.

I Happened to know that the fire was right up the road from his home.

"Josiah came over and sprayed water on the roof and the yard to knock down the embers that were blowing around."

"Did you get your horses out?"

"Oh yeah, yeah."

He made it sound like they'd moved away a month ago and he was forwarding their mail. The fact is he must have moved his horses before doing anything else that night because it was only a matter of an hour or two after the first alarm that the fire was racing his way. Catherine Remak reported on the radio that traffic was stopped on Foothill near mission canyon that night by a woman riding her horse out of the hills to safety. Losing a horse in a fire would truly be awful.

I asked Si to say hello to Karen and stepped out of the Post Office. I remembered when Irene Davis Bakery was next door and my mother would sometimes stop inside. I remember the smell of baking bread and cinnamon in the air outside. Stepping inside we were greeted by the smell of fresh coffee. I used to ask my mother for one of the free donut holes that sat on a little white china plate next to the big silver coffee urn.

"Only One".

I tucked the approximately 80 catalogs in the mail under my arm and walked from the post office down along the little row of shops. I passed where Jim Rankin's Toy Store used to be. When I was a kid that was where you got all the toys baby boomers remember from Mattel and Whammo. Remember "Creeple People?" I really wanted a Thing Maker.

Just down at the end of the arcade of shops I walked in to the Farmer Boy Restaurant.

One of the original tenants in what used to be the a little shopping center at the edge of town, the Farmer Boy is a 50 year old coffee shop. Nothing fancy. Don't look for any nouveau cuisine. (hit the link for pictures, details and customer comments). "Awful Good Food" is the slogan painted on the side of the building.
You can't get a latte. On the other hand, you can get a cinnamon roll instead of toast with your bacon and eggs.

This is a locals hangout. Last December 7, I sat at the counter and had breakfast with Danny Ramirez of "Danny's Custom Styling". Danny lived just 2 doors down from us when he opened his barber shop in 1960. Both he and my dad were WWII Vets raising young kids in the suburbs.

I said, "Happy Pearl Harbor Day Danny."

He told me that just after Pearl Harbor he'd gone with friends in Santa Barbara to enlist in the Navy. He served on a destroyer in the Pacific and that's where he learned to cut hair. Guys were lined up for haircuts from the ships barber so they could pass inspection. Danny set up shop with scissors so that his shipmates could get cleaned up in time for inspection.

We talked about my brothers and his kids and grand kids and then shook hands and went off to work.

Now I'm back home. And it's time to get back to work.

* * * * * *

Quote of the day:

"I have a lot of depth, a lot of layers."
Ashley Dupre - Eliot Spitzer Prostitute

A lot of layers? Priceless!

Thanksgiving - We Owe Thanks To So Many

2008-11-16T11:16:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post this morning, I'll update later.

First things first, last night was quiet. The winds died down and the emergency officials began letting residents into the burn area late yesterday. One of our friends found that her home on Mountain Drive was completely destroyed. Located at the bottom of the canyon along a creek bank, there was no way for fire crews to save it.

>THANK YOU FIREFIGHTERS<

>THANK YOU POLICE OFFICERS, SHERIFF DEPUTIES, HIGHWAY PATROL and VOLUNTEERS<

THANKS TO OUR CIVIC LEADERS
Mayor Blum, County Supervisors - especially Salud Carbajal, SB City Council, State Assembly member Pedro Nava and Representative Lois Capps. Thanks for standing with us. Your work is only beginning.

Also a special note of thanks to everyone at Rincon Broadcasting in Santa Barbara for bringing Santa Barbara REAL RADIO that made a BIG difference. You were a crucial factor in protecting lives. That, folks, is what a broadcast license is for. Thank you all.

Santa Barbara Tea Fire - Night Terrors

2008-11-14T09:01:00.000-08:00

I stood on the roof of our house at 11:30 last night and watched the western edge of the fire as it ran up the canyon toward Gibralter. I saw the top of Sycamore
canyon explode in towers of wind driven flame 100 feet high. At the same time I could see the glow of the fire on the eastern edge of the Riviera.

We are safe and sound this morning. The menacing orange rampage of last night is replaced by an ashen and edgy calm here this morning.

We're in shock. Like waking from a nightmare that continues to haunt you.

Last night at about 5:45 the fire started. In less than an hour it was tearing through the brush and homes were literally exploding. I know that when the stories are told we'll be hearing about people literally running out the door of their homes with the smoke and flames chasing them down the street. This has been an extremely agressive and fast moving fire.

No cause reported yet, but rumor and speculation?

One friend who lives near ground zero says the Tea House area is popular with people who like to enjoy the view at sunset...with perhaps a smoke of one kind or another.

The damage could be half a billion dollars.

That's a lot of dreams in ashes this morning.

UPDATE - Fire Map Link

Tea Fire - Santa Barbara is Burning Tonight

2008-11-13T21:55:00.001-08:00

I took these photos during the 7:00 PM hour from the roof of my home in Santa Barbara. The sundowner winds are driving a the flames at up to 70 miles per hour.
Wind gusts and warm, dry conditions are forecast to continue through tonight.
The helicopters are in the air...we are told that a water dropping copter from LA is here and a chopper from SB County. The rest are media choppers

I saw SB County fire crews and engines surrounded by burning homes from an aerial picture on KCAL9 TV from LA. Fire started in the area above Sycamore Canyon/western Montecito.

AT 10:00 PM

Fire is totally out of control in suburban foothills. Areas below HWY 192 East Valley Road / Stanwood Dr / Hot Springs Rd. ordered evacuated. More current news
at CAL FIRE

Dozens of homes burned so far. The Riviera is burning. Fire crews are rushing in but they can't begin to stop the fire.

people are being cautioned to be ready to leave. We're asked to turn off the gas main before evacuating because homes are exploding.

We are safe at this time. But winds and fire will make the next several days very long. The same area burned in 1977 in the Sycamore Canyon Fire.

Before that, the area burned in the Coyote Firein September 1964. I sat on the couch in our living room as my family waited for the evacuation order which was delivered by a police officer who came to the door and told us to leave.

A night like tonight brings that all back.

Special thanks to Rincon broadcasting of Santa Barbara and KEYT Channel 3 for their excellent work tonight.

I happened to be listening to the radio when my old friend Peter Bie cut in with the first live report about 40 minutes after the fire took off. Great work Peter!

UPDATE 10:30

National Guard troops are ordering evacuation of homes on upper Gutierrez Street just below the Riviera neighborhood. Caller says portions of Botanic Garden (Mission Canyon) are burning.

UPDATE 11:50

Link to KTYD Live coverage

Link was busy on my last attempt but good local content

Prodroom delivers to NPR's Robert Krulwich

2008-11-12T15:09:00.000-08:00

New Santa Barbarian Jade Blackwater was our guest in The Production Room studio for an ISDN connection with National Public Radio science reporter Robert Krulwich.

So how many trees are there for each person on the planet?
NASA knows.

And what are we doing with all those trees?
Find out by listening to this story that aired today on Morning Edition.

As a side note, Some mornings when Susan and I wake up on the farm one of us will look out of our bedroom window and say, "See those trees? They're mine." This picture was taken in September at the farm.

For more please click on this link to Dunn Creek Farm

NAFTA: Revised or Reinterpreted?

2008-11-11T08:32:00.000-08:00

What will President Obama mean to Canadians? Ask most Canadians and after polite expressions off relief you'll likely hear speculation about NAFTA.

Former Canadian UN Ambassador Paul Heinbecker is interviewd in this link to a Q and A with Doug Fisher of Canwest News Service published Saturday,November 8th in the Ottawa Citizen.

Q. But what about Obama's vow to reopen NAFTA?

A. Obama and a Democratic Congress might very well open up those labour and environmental provisions of the trade agreement that Obama talked about during the primaries, but there are a lot of Canadians who wouldn't mind that at all. So long as the Americans come at it recognizing that the closest they are ever going to come to energy independence is by co-operating with Canada, I think we could negotiate a pretty good outcome. It's been a long time, nearly 20 years, since the treaty was on the table, and there are plenty of items that could be added or adjusted. None of that really terrifies me.

This is exactly what I heard from Canadians on the East Coast. Ambassador Heinbecker is correct about the benefits for both sides in re-examining NAFTA and there are several other reasons why a reinterpretation of NAFTA will reveal the abuse of the treaty terms by the Bush administration and could restore the intent of the treaty.

There have been times during the last few years when CBC reported mumblings about a withdrawal from NAFTA after US intransigence on trade issues. The softwood lumber fight and a series of border closings related to beef and potatoes left Canada pissed off. Endless US appeals of legal decisions favoring Canada's trade position made some ready to quit. A reinterpretation of NAFTA in Washington could solve some of the problems immediately.

And the US electorate (and our media) should take note of the following comment:

"Canada is the Americans' largest supplier of oil, petroleum products, gas electricity and uranium. And I think significant markets could be found for those elsewhere, if necessary. The Americans know that. So it doesn't make economic sense. Nor does it make sense strategically for the U.S. to force Canada to seek other markets, like China, for resources."

Ummm yeah. We import more energy from Canada than we do from Saudi Arabia. And we get a pretty good deal on energy under NAFTA.

Did I Mention Change in Iran?

2008-11-09T23:31:00.000-08:00

It was only yesterday that I suggested change could be brought about by soft power as a result of the US election.

While it's still early and dangerous to suggest that a major shift is already under way, I found this interesting story from Borzou Daragahi in today's LA Times online linked to the Huffington Post:

Iran Economists Denounce Ahmedinejad's Policies

Seems that the Iranian President is taking more domestic flack from nascent opposition to his government's standard of bellicose nationalism.

Now, to be fair, Iran has unhappily found itself centered between hostile forces in destabilized countries on two of it's borders. It's only natural for the Iranian government to focus on nationalist themes in the face of a serious threat.

But when your own economists contradict your leadership in an international forum and you start reading this:

In a 30-page letter quoted by several newspapers and state-run television and published on the website of the independent Iranian Labor News Agency, the economists say Iran is in dire economic straits and must drastically change course. The letter also says Ahmadinejad's "tension-creating" foreign policy has "scared off foreign investment and inflicted heavy damage" on the economy.

"Meager economic growth, widespread jobless rate, chronic and double-digit inflation, crisis in capital markets, government's expansionary budget, disturbed interaction with the world, inequity and poverty have combined with the global economic downturn to leave undeniably big impacts on exports and imports," the letter says.

Ahmadinejad immediately blasted back, contending at a seminar on economic development that Iran has been "least affected by this international financial crisis" and urging economists to design "an independent economic system and model based on justice," according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency.

A man like President Ahmedinejad has got to be a little concerned about his fellow conservative ideologues and their ability to hold on to power. He knows that his people realize that America has peacefully overthrown it's own hard liners.

The president of Iran and many in his government are veterans of the Iranian revolution and no doubt command respect among older and conservative people. I wonder what the feeling is among young Iranians who don't remember the revolution but do like democracy.

More from the LA Times:

The letter and its publication suggest that Ahmadinejad and his clique face growing discontent among Tehran's elite political circles ahead of the presidential election in June.

The negative assessment flies in the face of recent bragging about Iran's economy by religious leaders, some of whom have described the West's economic downturn as God's revenge.

Sound familiar? Religious fundamentalists are the same in any language.

In America, we've just passed through our own democratic process - 22 months of fear against hope.

Now I wonder what the Iranian people hope for this June?

President Obama and the Return of Soft Power

2008-11-08T22:21:00.000-08:00

I'm not the first to notice this factor and I'll post some links below which we can examine together since I have not yet read other articles on this topic.

It's a good think piece for this first Sunday after the election.

I'll keep my comments focused on one example so we can move on to what the real thinkers think and you can compare my take with theirs.

Imagine for a moment that you are a citizen of Tehran, Iran. You may not have been out dancing in the streets last Tuesday night but you certainly know who Barack Obama is and you know that he has peacefully overthrown the American government by winning a decisive democratic vote of confidence from the American people.

You know that Obama risked his candidacy by expressing his willingness to resolve conflicts in the interest of peace.

Consider what this means to Iran's president Ahmadinijad, whose own government has been recently been rocked by scandal. Consider the superficially gracious and yet slightly pointed letter he sent to president elect Obama regarding future discussions.

President Ahmadinijad now faces the problem of appearing belligerent in the face of democratic principle and reason. He faces the risk of placing his tenuous hold on government against a world leader who is probably now more popular in his own country (especially among young people) than he is. He and others in the establishment could face a newly energized electorate chanting "Yes We Can" on the streets as they work to further their own Democracy.

This is how President Barack Obama can win the peace we all seek with soft power.

George Bush attempted to impose American will with military might. But ironically Barack Obama and America, with new democratic allies everywhere, are in a position to use this election to drive the change that doesn't come from a gun.

America has shown that all of us are free to rise up and shout, "YES WE CAN".

Ahmadinijad

Joseph Nye - Barack Obama and Soft Power

Joseph Nye II

Galen Fox - Capitalism + Democracy = Peace

The Year of Jubilo

2008-11-06T08:21:00.000-08:00

Kingdom Coming
(Henry Clay Work)

Say, darkeys, hab you seen de massa,
Wid de muff-stash on his face,
Go long the road some time dis mornin'
Like he gwine to leab de place?
He seen a smoke, 'way up the ribber
Whar the Linkum gunboats lay;
He took his hat an' lef' berry sudden
An' I spec he's run away!

cho: De massa run? Ha ha!
De darkeys stay? Ho ho!
It mus' be now de kingdom comin'
An' de year ob Jubilo!

Henry Clay Work was a white abolitionist from Connecticut. The song is based on a published parody of runaway slave ads which were widely published in all of the states before the Civil War. The joke here is that "massa" ran away from the Federal Army and the slaves he left behind are offering to take him back.

Headlines from "The Change"
Here are some of the latest dispatches from the front:

Sarah We Hardly Knew Ye
The long knives are already out...

The battle is on for control of what's left of the Conservative coalition. Obviously there are some who don't want Sarah Palin to be the face of the party in 2012.

Man The Lifeboats!

Nice summary of Rush Limbaugh comments yesterday

"The conservative movement does not need to be rebuilt," he said. "We had some people abandon the conservative movement, and they need to be abandoned."

Someone might mention to Rush that he could be the one cut loose in the purge that is surely underway. Rush flogged for McCain (after trying to destroy him in the primaries). He lobbied hard for Palin and now wants no responsibility for damaging the coalition that won elections. He labored mightily for conservatism and failed. So why does he have a new contract? Stay tuned while you can. There are going to be stations leaving the EIB.

Where Does This Leave The Christian Coalition?
They really should have seen this coming. They were patronized by the Republicans in exchange for political influence. And they sure don't like anyone being critical of their political activism as Michelle Goldberg found out when she published:

Kingdom Coming - The Rise of Christian Nationalism

Apparently large numbers have found Jesus again and are done rendering elections to a Caesar who never delivered on their agenda.

CALIFORNIA'S PROP 8 - Legalized Discrimination

The Christians and Catholics and Mormons (you'll notice that Christians even discriminate against each other) poured millions of out of state dollars into a vote on a constitutional amendment in my home state of California. How's that grab you? Not since the Supreme Court nullified free state constitutions(Dred Scott)has their been such an abuse of States Rights.

The battle will go back to the court and this amendment will not pass a civil liberties test. It will wind up in the US Supreme Court which has jurisdiction over individual rights under Federal Law. The conservatives may have created the unintended consequence of taking this issue out of the hands of the states and putting it squarely into the hands of Federal courts who will have to rule on this in the context of human rights.

De oberseer he make us trouble, an' he dribe us round a spell;
We lock him up in de smoke house cellar, wid de key t'rown in de well.
De whip is lost, de han'-cuff broken, but de massa'll hab his pay;
He's ole enough, big enough, ought to known better, dan to went, an' run away.
De massa run? ha, ha! De darkey stay? ho, ho!
It mus' be now de kingdom comin', an' de year ob Jubilo!

Obama Speech on Election Night

2008-11-05T10:08:00.000-08:00

A New Reality is Coming

2008-11-03T11:42:00.000-08:00

A senior Republican Adviser to President George W. Bush was interviewed by Ron Suskind. This excerpt from Suskind's report tells us a great deal about the people and the mindset of the out-going American President and his administration. It also may be key to understanding why Americans will break the Republican hold on government tomorrow.

In the summer of 2002, after I had written an article in Esquire that the White House didn't like about Bush's former communications director, Karen Hughes, I had a meeting with a senior adviser to Bush. He expressed the White House's displeasure, and then he told me something that at the time I didn't fully comprehend -- but which I now believe gets to the very heart of the Bush presidency.

The aide said that guys like me were ''in what we call the reality-based community,'' which he defined as people who ''believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality.'' I nodded and murmured something about enlightenment principles and empiricism. He cut me off. ''That's not the way the world really works anymore,'' he continued. ''We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality -- judiciously, as you will -- we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.''

Excerpt from:
Faith, Certainty and the Presidency of George W. Bush
By RON SUSKIND

Published: October 17, 2004

Amazingly, this report explains so much about where we are on the eve of this election.

Why are we so hungry for change?
Why was a faith based know-nothing picked for VP?

Read this article and then vote.

If you're not American, read this article and then watch the election returns tomorrow. I promise it will make viewing more interesting.

The terms of political discussion in America have changed. The framing of political issues and American foreign policy are about to be re-modeled.

America's conservatives find themselves unable to persuade the populace with the language and ideology they have become addicted to.

Barack Obama is a master of modern political campaigning.

I read this article when it was first published and have seen it quoted and misquoted repeatedly. I post it here, in hopes that it will help make this touchstone bit of reporting on the George W. Bush Presidency more readily available.

Barack Obama 30 Minute Advert

2008-10-30T09:16:00.000-07:00

More today from Tom Shales in the Washington Post Online

John McCain - Now with 50% More Negatives!

The big picture rhetoric of this campaign has been remarkably consistent.
Barack Obama has been driving his message of hope and change since the last Democratic Party Convention in 2004. He has been defining the political conversation in this country ever since.

He never surrendered this position against Hillary Clinton and he's forced the Republican Party off of it's own message so many times that it has had to re-tool it's campaign and relaunch it's strategy almost every week since August.

So on the day that Barack Obama stood on top of his winning position, John McCain tried to gain ground in typical fashion:

"Barack Obama's ideologically-driven plans to redistribute income will impose higher taxes on families, small businesses, and investors; expensive, rigid, job-killing health mandates on employers; energy policies that fail to promote domestic oil, natural gas, and coal, and will impose a massive Washington-driven regulation of everything from home furnaces to factories; isolationist trade policies that endanger one out of every five jobs; and massive new spending plans that that will burden the economy and saddle our children with debt. Barack Obama is change Americans cannot afford."

Does anybody else see that when McCain reflexively goes negative on his opponent he cuts his forward momentum in half? He has consistently reduced his ability to lead this election by actually presenting himself as an "alternative". Being alternative to the mainstream makes you number 2.

John McCain has falied to make this election about John McCain. He has made it a referendum on one issue:

Barack Obama for President, yes or no.

The Sound of Hope

2008-10-23T09:25:00.000-07:00

Barack Obama in Richmond Virginia yesterday.

Choosing our Future President

2008-10-22T21:52:00.000-07:00

The future is what this election is about. Here are a few thoughts about that.

If John McCain becomes president, he will take office at the age of 72. The oldest man to be elected president. His father and grandfather were distinguished US Navy admirals in WWII. John McCain himself served and did hard time in a POW camp in Viet Nam. That was a very long time ago. The America that greeted John McCain when he returned from Viet Nam must have seemed quite different from the country he left to serve. The Viet Nam war ended in 1975. Just think how different our world has become since then.

Now consider this:

If elected, Barack Obama will become our first post Cold War president.
He will be the first American President to mature in the the modern
post WWII/post Cold War era. That post war era may not have ended on Sept 11, 2001,
but a new era certainly began on that day and the fact that Barack Obama is not bound to the previous era but embarks in the new era is a decided plus. We can no more go back to calling on our post war success in this day and age than we can re-unite the Beatles.

I watched Senator Obama's speech, "A More Perfect Union" or, the "Race Speech" again last night online. If you have time, review John Kennedy's First Inaugural Address and see where Senator Obama's political roots are. Watch John Kennedy be the first President to address the people of the world live on television. His understanding and mastery of TV gave him command of the election and his message reached to the far corners of the world. (My first online search for a link to this speech hit on a Chinese server.) Senator Obama has internet skills John McCain doesn't even comprehend and Barack Obama already speaks to the world.

If he is elected, Barack Obama will be the first president who understands the internet the way Kennedy understood TV. He has built a solid campaign on the internet and has become the first candidate to figure out how to fully integrate his message across all new media.

If he is elected, Barack Obama will be the first African American president. He will be in the unique position of Rosa Parks and Jackie Robinson. Americans who responded to "no you can't" with "yes we can". And as such, he will be the first American president with the moral authority to face down the racist past of white America and the opportunistic bullying of soon to be irrelevant black nationalists.

If he is elected, Barack Obama will be the first modern liberal in America. He will be free from the cynical calculations of Democrats from the last generation. In a day when the word liberal no longer holds enough venom, and socialist or communist or anti American or terrorist must be used in it's stead, this will be no small victory for middle America.

If he is elected, he will be the first global citizen to be elected president.
James Garfield (1831 - Orange, Cayuhoga County, Ohio) was the last president to claim birth in a log cabin. Bu we've held fast to the myth of humble frontier beginnings ever since. Barack Obama has humble roots and humble beginnings that span America's modern frontier to the West - in the Pacific. Born in Hawaii and raised in Indonesia before coming to Kansas, Cambridge Massachusetts and finally Chicago Illinois. He has already seen the world Americans inhabit.

He will be the first visionary president since Reagan.

He will be the first "philosopher king" since Kennedy.

He will be the first president who sees the future in our time.

Food Is a National Security Issue

2008-10-13T09:26:00.000-07:00

I've been learning organic farming for over 10 years. When my wife and I bought a 123 acre farm my life became an episode of Green Acres.

It was a romantic decision. Move to the country. Live on the land. Commune with nature and build a dream. Some people we know had the same dream about leaving the city and having a nice quiet B&B in New England. Or a coastal winery in California.

Well, long story short, I've earned a few blisters, watched the weeds take over the fields and tossed a lot of blemished or unsold fruit and vegetables into the compost. I've been learning first hand about the farm economy and market gardening.

For us, the magic has faded some. Not because we don't love our farm or the community or the work. The magic has faded because we see the cold reality of what farming in North America has become and the difficult choices facing all of us.

*We are now living in a country that must import energy to grow food.

*We are now living in a country that is rapidly losing the ability to feed itself.

*We are now dependent on foreign markets for the energy and food we consume.

*Farmers don't make profit, they service debt and manage cash flow.

*Small family farms are unwanted by government planners and agribusiness marketers.

*The average age of the American farmer is 57.

*We know our imported food supply isn't safe from tampering or poor practices.

*We know that cheap, high fat, low nutrition processed food that sits on store shelves for months creates dietary health problems.

What we don't know is who is going to grow American food 10 years from now.

Michael Abelman showed my wife and I the way forward. A personal friend, Michael encouraged us to go for it. A few years later, we saw him at Fairview Gardens Farm in Santa Barbara. He was reading selections from his book, "Fields of Plenty". Michael discussed his experience traveling across America to meet organic farmers and discuss modern agri-culture.

He finished by saying, "If you want to eat in the future, you'd better make friends with a farmer."

AMEN.

If you want a longer explanation of what's happening you must read this:
"Farmer in Chief" by Michael Pollan in the New York Times online.

The free ride on cheap food is about to end. This article explains why. And I'm here to tell you, Pollan has it right.

Welcome to the New Deal!

2008-10-10T12:09:00.000-07:00

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When you're ready to move ahead with your marketing, we'll be ready to help you.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Economy - Don't Panic!

2008-10-09T21:02:00.000-07:00

I feel like Arthur Dent from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Today it seems that everything I know is wrong. So Besides recommending that you read Douglas Adams book (and suggesting that you always keep your towel with you) there are several things to keep in mind.

The first is: Don't Panic.

There are a lot of things I could worry about right now but unless time starts running backward we're not going to return to the way things were last October. We're in the midst of a moment of historic and permanent change.

So we'll have to move forward, knowing that change always creates opportunity.

Have a Coke and I'll tell you what I think.

Radio was relatively new in 1929. Talking pictures were also new. Long distance telephone was still expensive and communication in general was still limited.

During the Depression, radio boomed. After the initial crash, businesses that needed to get back on their feet discovered advertising on the radio to reach a mass market. If you were selling champagne and caviar this probably didn't help you.
But if you were selling floor wax and toothpaste you did pretty well. My point is, consumer spending will continue. Marketers will continue to advertise products that consumers need because market share just became a matter of survival. It was during the depression that advertising dollars built a new communications medium and launched a thousand new media stars.

The internet is about to come of age and this is going to have a major impact on what the economy does and how business re-organizes. In a medium that is already showing its ability to create and deliver content on demand it's only a matter of time before ad dollars follow.

Here's the reason this is true. Cost. I don't have to buy air time or print space to tell you who I am or what I do or how I can help you save a ton of money on car insurance. As we reorganize business, this is going to be a huge factor in how we move ahead.

So. Don't Panic.

We all need to re-fit and reorganize around the new technology and new media that is still lagging behind in actual implementation in the United States.

It won't be long until we see "Geico Comedy Theater" and "Microsoft Music Parade"as regular features of online entertainment. And we'll see more websites add content to generate traffic because it costs nothing to distribute online and you can own your brand forever. We'll see more ads - both conventional and online that direct traffic to entertainment sites where branding is part of the product.

A few years ago, Michael Huffington ran the most expensive Senate race in history. After he lost, he left his wife and announced he was gay. That made news, but nobody really remembers him. Nobody would remember who the unfortunate ex-wife was either except that she started a website. You may have heard of, "The Huffington Post".

Arianna Huffington didn't panic. Why should you?

In the next few blog posts, I'm going to describe how I'm re-organizing my business, how I plan to save my customers money and how I'm going to help them create the new, lower cost marketing messages and content they'll need to compete in a tougher market.

I'm also going to describe ways that creative producers can work together to create new products that meet the needs of clients who want to move ahead.

I'm optimistic that we can find the opportunity that this change is going to create.

In the mean time, So Long, and Thanks for all the Fish.

What The World Knows About US

2008-10-07T11:39:00.001-07:00

Sarah Palin and several others are claiming that Barack Obama is unpatriotic or un-American for suggesting that US forces are (in her words) 'air raiding civilians' in Afghanistan.

The problem is that US forces are in fact, "air raiding civilians" in Afghanistan.

Everybody on the ground there from the president of Afghanistan to our NATO allies knows this is true and they are complaining loudly about it. Especially since US planes murdered a wedding party last summer and US commanders tried to deny that it happened.

How do I know?

Because our Canadian allies were reporting this story in August and September. Seems the ungrateful Afghanis don't appreciate being murdered at family gatherings.

Why do these air strikes happen?

According to allied commanders it's because US forces operate under different rules of engagement in Afghanistan than NATO forces. NATO rules are more conservative with the result that there have been far fewer civilian or friendly fire casualties inflicted by NATO than by the US.

Barack Obama was speaking about facts that are well understood by everyone.

Everyone but John McCain, Sarah Palin and the red-meat loving right.

No Really. Don't Vote

2008-10-03T18:09:00.000-07:00

Bruce Brown's Endless Support for Surfrider

2008-09-30T09:30:00.000-07:00

In 1963 and 1964, Bruce Brown created the first surf movie that the general public would see and that surfers would worship even to this day. He shot 9 miles of silent 16mm film on a world tour with two young American surfers, then spent the next several years editing and re-arranging and working out his simple narrative in front of a live audience.

In the process he created a film genre - the surf movie - and a style which is the forerunner of the modern "reality" video.

I was pleased to have the opportunity to meet Bruce Brown in the studio yesterday as we recorded sound for new Public Service Announcements sponsored by the Surfrider Foundation.

The session was directed by K.C. Cagle of NewBreed Media Arts of Dana Point California - a legendary surfing area that was once home to Mr. Brown. Mr. Cagle joined us in Santa Barbara for the session.

Bruce Brown has been dedicated to preserving public access to our coastlines for surfing and recreational use and surfrider has for many years worked within the community of watersport enthusiasts to support beach and water clean up.

At a time when most of us would be comfortably retired and proud of our accomplishments, Mr. Brown continues his work with Surfrider saying, "It's the least I can do."

(The Sandals - Theme from Endless Summer)

Popcorn Politics

2008-09-26T12:05:00.000-07:00

The presidential debate will be fun to watch.
But unless McCain rips off his clothes and screams "They're after me!"
Nothing much will change.

Obama has been campaigning too long to screw this up.
He's been sure footed all week. All he has to do is show that he comprehends what's going on and he will look more presidential than the trapeze artist he's running against.

For his part, all McCain has to do is look he might kill somebody and the right wing will eat it up.

The big news from the McCain camp will come when Palin tearfully resigns next week.

* * * *

Update: 9/30/08

Well, I thought Obama didn't hit very hard on Firday night. Not hard enough to score a knock out. But he apparently won on polling points. He's finally up about 5 points overall which puts him beyond the margin of error, And the swing states have swung his way.

Mean time the angry, divided and increasingly shrill McCain Campaign is spinning into the ground. The problem is certainly bigger than John McCain or the Republican party. All the more reason for him to stand back and avoind getting crushed by the fallout.

But the real deal is this:

George Bush - the head of the Republican party - is nothing but a ghost.
John McCain couldn't unify or lead his party to deliver a win in the House AFTER banking his prestige on it.
AND the Republicans have lost control of the government.

Now its up to the Democrats. They are free to write and pass any bill they want.
But first, they're going to let the Republicans sit and spin.

The Live Web

2008-09-26T11:20:00.001-07:00

This is a great thread that is currently (9/26/08) running on Doc Searls Blog called,
"The Live Web"

The conversation is linked here because it discusses what companies are failing to understand about designing and building their online presence.

The comments are from people who are very forward in the online community, meaning that they are "early adopters" who use cutting edge applications to explore the edges of cyberspace. OK, that might be a little hype-ey but I noticed several important ideas here that more business people should read and understand.

ISDN - From Santa Barbara to Anywhere!

2008-09-25T09:36:00.000-07:00

What's ISDN?

"High-speed digital network that can send voice, data and video over the same line simultaneously. This network uses traditional telephone networks but requires specialized equipment that allows travel at a higher speed." - worldbank.org

More important is what you can do with ISDN.

For example, The Production Room regularly hosts guests of programs on NPR, BBC, CBC and recently - Radio Netherlands.

The guest arrives at our studio in Santa Barbara and we are linked by ISDN to the recording studio where the program is produced. The host and the guest sound as though they are in the same room at the same time and the result is very high quality interview delivered in real time. In fact, some of our guests have been interviewed and broadcast live on national networks.

I'll have more information about ISDN in the weeks ahead.

New Narration for Channel Islands National Park

2008-09-25T08:58:00.000-07:00

I'm very proud of the work I've done on environmental documentary productions over the years. I've been associated with Jean Michel Cousteau and Ocean Futures, The Save our Seas Foundation, the Nature Conservancy and now, thanks to Michael Hanrahan at the Ocean Channel, I also have the privilege of being selected to voice media for Channel Islands National Park.

As someone who has for years been captivated by the National Park System and it's mission to make our nation's natural and cultural resources available to everyone, It's my honor to be part of the media presented to visitors of one of our newer parks. Also, as a proud native of Santa Barbara County, I'm pleased that a local talent has been asked to tell the story of this national park.

For an online example of the work I've done with the Ocean Channel, please watch,
"Santa Cruz Island - Restoring the Balance".

...And We're Back!

2008-09-24T13:26:00.001-07:00

Back in the dim past (I think it was spring) I kind of blew up my business blog to comment on politics and the rhetoric of the Democratic Primary season. Hard to resist since we had two powerful and well coached contenders fighting for control of the Democratic Party as a preliminary to the general election.

But this general election is less about the dexterity of candidates or their skills as campaigners and more about who can find a life boat that will float until we're all rescued in November. So I'm not that interested in what they say because it's mostly obsolete now. (UPDATE: McCain has just suspended his campaign due to the financial crisis. Translation: "The script is out the window!")

I did notice that the Bush appointed Treasury Secretary is lobbying on behalf of his former employer for an industry wide bailout. The final act of this President could be to saddle the next administration with unspeakable debt. Wow. Great idea.

At least there is FINALLY some bi-partisan outrage on Capitol Hill.

* * * * *

In OTHER News!

While you were rapidly sliding into 3rd world status as a citizen of the largest debtor nation in history, I was actually producing hilarious media and serious voice over projects. And beans. I grew a lot of beans.

Fun to mention this item on a day when McCain campaigners continue to stamp their feet and fret over partisanship in the media. (Isn't it ironic that John McCain also chairs the Commerce Committee which oversees the FCC.) UPDATE: McCain also voted to block a re-introduction of the Fairness Doctrine*.
See our take on cable news journalism since the de-regulation of broadcast:
http://dirtbox.tv/wwjn.php

Ooops! And I was trying so hard to stay off of politics!

*McCain co-sponsored Broadcaster Freedom Act

He co-sponsored S. 1742:

Broadcaster Freedom Act of 2007
A bill to prevent the Federal Communications Commission from repromulgating the fairness doctrine.

Cosponsor: Sen. John MCain [R-AZ]

Autumn Leaves

2008-09-23T11:26:00.000-07:00

The following is a post from my other blog page, Dunn Creek Organic Farm. It's kind of like that essay we all had to write in September, "What I did this summer".

Each summer, our family lives and works on our organic farm on Prince Edward Island in Atlantic Canada. This year I related some of our story in text and pictures. I hope you'll check it out!

This summer on PEI was all too short as usual and a quite bit wetter than normal! After the basement flooded, Post Tropical Storm Hannah dumped another 3 inches of rain on our farm in Eastern PEI.

So, when the weather cleared and the fields dried enough for me to slog through, I found soggy potatoes but glorious beet greens and swiss chard! Lots of our yellow beans went un-picked until it was too late for me to bring in a top quality product. The beans showed rust, and other effects of too much water. Letting them hold too long on the plant also meant they were past their tender best. So out to the compost they go!

Sweet corn finally came in - but too late in the season to do much good. We had an acceptable level of corn worm damage and nice size ears from plants otherwise stunted earlier in the season by lack of rain and some fertility/rotation issues I need to solve.

My last few days of work on the farm have focused on cleaning up the rows that were fallowed this year and the crops that were finished for the season. I take up a lot of this material by hand (weeds, plants, etc.) and mix it into compost. The compost works for two years and is then applied to planting rows.

It was beautiful on Friday morning when I went to the shore to pick up a manure spreader load of sea kelp for the compost pile. This rich source of micro-nutrients and biological energy mixes well with the horse manure we collected over the summer and the fresh green waste (the old bean plants, cukes, summer squashes, windfall apples and weeds). All are combined in layers with spoiled hay and then the fun begins!

Nothing better than coming out on a frosty Autumn morning to see steam rising off the compost pile! It's tremendous to be able to watch the process that creates fertility as bacteria, water and oxygen become a bio-engine that sterilizes and breaks down the mixture into healthy soil ammendment!

The farm business was slow this year. Despite our success at Dundas and at our periodic market table in Murray River, the number of visitors to eastern PEI and customers at our gate lane was well below what it has been in former years. I'll let tourism PEI determine why, but I think it's fair to guess that the high cost of fuel, parity of the US dollar and confusion about border crossings etc. made it tough for Americans to make the trip.

The number of visitors from Quebec, who often exclaim their appreciation at finding an organic farm on their island tour, also seemed to be fewer this past year. Though the visitors we did receive from Quebec were lovely and enthusiastic and made me aware that I really need to learn to at least name our produce varieties in French.

Even so, we did have some success in ways that are important to our business. We used our logo and the PEI organic producers co-op label on our bagged products and were rewarded by repeat business from people who recognized our branding.

We also found new ways (for us) to use machines for planting, how crop rotations can be improved and how companion planting can improve resistance to pests and improve yield.

So, all in all we made progress on the land and kept things moving ahead.

Hillary's Choice

2008-06-03T22:54:00.001-07:00

Barack Obama gained enough delegates tonight to claim his party nomination for President today. As historic as this day is - the day a black American was raised to the highest level ever achieved by the historic American slave race - the much vilified media made this Hillary's night. Another impossible moment in an impossible year. What now?

I'm trying hard to see where we go from here.

What I'm seeing is that some think Hillary was robbed and should fight on to the convention for a do-over of the primary process on the convention floor.

On the other hand, there is an emotional attraction to offering a joint ticket - which might be smart politics but it contains real problems for Obama.

As much as some may dislike the idea, Hillary has already lost the delegate count and her situation isn't likely to get better if she insists on continuing her campaign. This is clearly not what the majority of pledged delegates and super delegates want. She fought hard but finished the race behind and bankrupt.

The VP question is open - but remember that she declined that possibility tonight. There are days ahead when that could change but Hillary supporters won't like what she'll have to do to earn it.

Before she can even be considered for VP, she will have to publicly concede to Senator Obama and retire from the race. She will have to offer her unqualified support from now until the convention and she will have to refuse the calls from her supporters to contest against Obama at the convention. She will have to agree to support his campaign for president in November and recognize him as the leader of their campaign. This is not humiliation based on gender. The same would be true of any competitor.

I think Hillary can be a strong compliment to Barack, but that is entirely up to her and she's not ready to bow to him just yet.

Perhaps that is right. She won another primary that her campaign worked hard to earn so why cheapen it by waving the white flag on a victory?

Now the question is: will she take a reasonable amount of time for things to cool and then accept an honorable defeat and a change in direction? She's pretty smart. And this may be the only road left to a sure thing.

If she yields completely at the right moment, she'll probably be offered a place on the ticket. If not, things only look worse from here.

Are We A Post Racial, Post Feminist Party?

2008-05-31T17:30:00.000-07:00

The pictures from the Democratic Rules Committee hearing were worth a thousand words.

The faces in the room were white and black and many hues in between. They were male and female and fiercely committed - to candidates, to party and to principle. It was good. It was good because everyone knew this was a historic moment that will change our politics and could change our nation. We're serious about this election and the change we're making. There is no apathy in the party. We are mobilized and ready to march. We just need to choose our leaders.

Hillary Clinton doesn't need me to suck up to her and her supporters won't find me useful either. So I figure that leaves me free to speak.

There have been bitter fights in the party before and there will be again. As much as I'd like it to be, I'm not convinced this fight is over. Not until the convention meets in Denver and confirms Senator Obama. The Primaries may be all but over. But the back room arm twisting and potential for a floor fight are a long way from being gone. There are a lot of strong women and men supporting Senator Clinton and they will be heard from. So we'll see how it plays out.

Meanwhile, I sense that our political process and our party has changed forever.

Back in 2000 the GOP Convention was stage managed to present the "Big Tent" view of itself to America. That big tent was supposed to include all Americans. But it still looked like Anita Bryant, The Miss America Pageant and "Up With People" were in charge of the mostly white male dominated process.

Barack Obama And Hillary Clinton have left the Big Tent dusty and empty. Women aren't told much anymore. They know how to keep an eye their own interests and they learned long ago not to depend on anyone else to take care of them.

America's black citizens are in a similar position.

In the Democratic Party, race and gender aren't window dressing. The party is actively struggling with these issues in the most meaningful political ways there could possible be. It's not pretty. But so what?

I just hope that the Tom Tancredo wing of the GOP keeps making it clear that brown people aren't welcome. The hunger for social justice isn't separate from Catholic Faith or the family values that people carry with them from Latin America to the United States. They too will be part of what drives change that matters.

The road to Denver will be difficult. I expect the Rules Committee verdict to be another signal to the Super Delegates that the party wants a final verdict as soon as possible. But that won't settle it entirely. There will be work to do at the convention to make a nomination official and unify the party.

Will the Obama Campaign be forced to go ugly? Will the Clinton camp decide to hold fire or retire from the contest? Possibly. But the issue won't really be decided until the delegates make it official at the Convention. And that's what keeps the door open for Senator Clinton.

10 Things Obama Could Do Besides Go To Iraq

2008-05-29T07:53:00.000-07:00

Aren't those GOP guys key-YOOOT!
They've started a CLOCK to show how long it's been since Senator Obama visited Iraq! Golly that's funny! Because, see, they're saying Senator Obama can't know anything about what's going on in Eye RACK unless he goes there!

That's gotta be true - 'specially since the phones don't work and the electrical is only on for a couple of hours a day.

Well, guess what? I found out - after exhaustive research - that the war is actually being managed, funded and run from Washington DC! And you know what? As a Senator from Illinois, Barack Obama has been to Washington and even voted on stuff.

So anyway, I thought I'd suggest a few things that Senator Obama could look into without going to Iraq.

1) Visit the White House and ask the President if he has any Iraq plans.

2) Ask the President if he knows who the Commander in Chief is.

3) Find out who's got our money.

4) Find out who the Secretary of Defense is and ask if he knows anything.

5) Visit the Department of Defense/Pentagon and ask around. Somebody there might have an idea of what's going on in Iraq.

6) Ask why the GOP thinks the chain of command starts with the theater of operations commander.

7) Call Gen'l Scapegoat and find out if he's got anything to add to his testimony to Congress.

8) Ask how many American soldiers are dead since Senator McCain put US troops in harms way for his stage-managed walk-about demonstrating security in Iraq.

9) Check and see if there are any high crimes or mis-demeanors someone could be charged with.

10) Ask if there's anybody still in Afghanistan.

HA HA HA! See how funny this is?

Right Wing Roundup

2008-05-28T08:14:00.000-07:00

Yeehaw!

Scott McClellan's new book is out. And the former White House Press Secretary has given John McCain a few dozen more reasons to put some distance between himself and President Bush. In fact, NASA may have to handle any future communication between them.

McCain has a very real problem because McClellan makes it clear that the cause for war in Iraq - a war McCain still supports - was pure bullshit and that the President was essentially delusional.

PHOENIX — President Bush “convinces himself to believe what suits his needs at the moment,” and has engaged in “self-deception” to justify his political ends, Scott McClellan, the former White House press secretary, writes in a critical new memoir about his years in the West Wing.

In addition, Mr. McClellan writes, the decision to invade Iraq was a “serious strategic blunder,” and yet, in his view, it was not the biggest mistake the Bush White House made. That, he says, was “a decision to turn away from candor and honesty when those qualities were most needed.”

Mr. McClellan’s book, “What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception,” is the first negative account by a member of the tight circle of Texans around Mr. Bush.

(Doug Mills/The New York Times)

Well OK then. I'm guessing that, "Stay The Course", a course charted by a President who was deep in "self deception", isn't going to work out too well for John McCain as the next captain of this Titanic disaster.

Good luck Senator. Your ship has just come in.

* * * *

Next, it's the Libertarian Republican versus the Republican Libertarian.

Ron Paul is an indication of just how embarrassing George Bush has been for a lot of intelligent Conservatives. Bob Barr is an indication of how hard it is for conservative Conservatives to swallow John McCain as a their candidate.

It's not like I really understand Libertarian ideology. I found Ron Paul interesting early on because I like his fundamentals. But I began to think that Ron Paul's America died at the Alamo. Or maybe in the Mexican War.

Bob Barr. Jeez dude, you were one of the guys who thought Clinton ought to be horsewhipped in public for getting a BJ. I thought Libertarians were fundamentally opposed to government sponsored morality.

It's going to be an interesting summer.

Where Will I Find The MSM?

2008-05-27T15:52:00.000-07:00

Remember way back when the term "Liberal Media" was new and Reagan was president? Liberal Media was a definition created by Conservatives who wanted to end the Fairness Doctrine and relax restrictions on corporate media ownership.

Today I see shorthand references to MSM or Main Stream Media all over the place.

The term Mainstream Media is as fictional as the term Liberal Media. In the world of commercially sponsored content there is only Popular Media and Un-popular media.

(Percentage of factual content and your perceptions may vary.)

Consider the major networks. Fox, ABC, MSNBC, CNN, CBS etc.
Which of them qualifies as the "MSM"?

Clinton, RFK and "The Smoking Gun"

2008-05-24T11:35:00.000-07:00

I was just thinking about August 5th, 1974.

It was on that day that the Nixon White House complied with a US Supreme Court ruling and released transcripts of conversation between Nixon and Haldeman 6 days after the Watergate Burglary in which Nixon orders the FBI to end it's investigation.

The tape became known as, "The Smoking Gun".

Eleven Republican members of the Judiciary Committee had voted against articles of impeachment. After "The Smoking Gun", they ended their support of President Nixon.
It was the moment that forced Nixon to resign.

I'm watching the reaction to Senator Clinton's assassination comment to see if it isn't another smoking gun. We have about two more weeks of primary voting. It is at that point the Super Delegates will likely weigh in.

Many Super Delegates have promised support for Senator Clinton. Others have yet to declare. I wonder if this moment will effectively decide the Super Delegate and force Hillary Clinton to resign.

Hillary Clinton and Tanya Harding

2008-05-24T09:33:00.000-07:00

I'm not the first to associate these two names. How truly sad is it that Senator Clinton herself has done more than anyone else could have to make the association valid.

You remember the story. Two fierce competitors in the world of ice skating. At the 1994 US Figure Skating championships, Harding's ex-husband and a co-conspirator assaulted Nancy Kerrigan - forcing her to withdraw from competition due to injury. Harding claims she was a victim of a plot and violent abuse by her former husband.

The US Figure Skating Association came to another conclusion:

The USFSA concluded that Harding knew about the attack before it happened and displayed "a clear disregard for fairness, good sportsmanship and ethical behavior".

Harding's supporters (and she does have them) are mostly white, female, lower income...That's not a BAD thing in America...it's just eerily familiar.

When I heard Senator Clinton mention Bobby Kennedy I was following her train of thought: that historic election contests have gone on into June. What I can't understand is why she thought it was a good idea to mention the 1968 campaign.

The reasoning didn't just occur to her. It is now central to her campaign. The fact that she didn't realize how awful that particular analogy is or how it could backfire on her is as disturbing to me as the remark itself. It was a moment of poor judgment, poorly considered strategy, and horrible reasoning blurted out in public. Seasoned journalist Daniel Schorr called her on it on NPR this morning and he's right. We can assume she knew (because she SHOULD have known - which is equally important) exactly what she was saying.

It's understandable that a long campaign could impair one's judgement or cloud one's reasoning. But if the unthinkable were to happen now...it must be laid at her door.

The Secret Service and the FBI must now be checking all leads - including possible conspiracies from opponents.

Please, Senator Clinton. PLEASE! I never hoped to see you like this.

Desperate but not Serious

2008-05-23T14:16:00.000-07:00

I've kept off of politics for a while.
Mainly because I just burned out on the topic.

Call it fatigue.

But a quick re-set might be in order.

It seems the closer Obama gets to claiming victory, the more we all have to wonder about the potential for self destructive behavior among Clinton Democrats who swear, as God is their witness, that they'll never EVER vote for that...that...MAN!

Losing is hard. But losing a close race that meant something very special to many people is apparently much harder.

Senator Clinton voted for the war in Iraq. That is the crucial reason I reject her candidacy for President. Her twisted argument that votes in Florida and Michigan must count is another symptom of her problem.

Hillary Clinton has shown that she will do anything to win - except tell the truth.
She is still not desperate enough to candidly explain that she wants Florida and Michigan to count against Senator Obama so that she can justify her fight to win support within the party establishment. She is in "go for broke" mode to win the White House. Nobody really thinks this is about voter rights which she happily signed away before the primaries.

Clearly, somebody or something has got to take the blame for her defeat.
The usual suspects are already being rounded up.

Indiana Jones and the Prodroom Part 2

2008-05-22T22:09:00.000-07:00

Yes, there was more Indiana Jones work today. And it's all about global reach.

This film is anticipated to have a huge opening release. But nobody anticipates better than Hollywood. Gotta love that "Star maker machinery". And for a PG13 rated film, they sure are aiming hard at pre-teens on all the Cable channels.

Miguel Ferrer was back today to voice several versions of a TV promo touting box office dominance in America and the World. Yikes! It's like watching a virus spread on a planetary scale (with a totally bitchin VO).

Let me be clear. Mr. Ferrer himself is a really good man. And Aspect Media in LA was a very cool ISDN hook up.

Keep in mind, we are a local, privately owned shop. We're not film driven. We're home boys. I was born in Santa Barbara, and Ray is from Inglewood, CA. We don't cater to Hollywood, it just found us. That said, we've worked hard to earn some respect for our little shop with the big players. We're happy that talent refers us to the big show in LA and New York. And we respect the professional value of the work we do for the artists and their clients. When a voice pro drops in and feels at home with us, we dig having their company and it's really nice. John Corbett likes to pick up on the vintage guitars Ray still plays on a slow Friday afternoon.

So, sometimes we do get a minute to visit. I was interested to learn that Miguel has four horses, rides English, competes in steeplechase and rides to the hounds in our western back-country. Speaking as a guy who first rode for a ranch and now rides western/pleasure...that's some STONES my friend! And you can hear them on new promos - playing on a video channel near you!

Indiana Jones and the Production Room!

2008-05-21T17:00:00.000-07:00

The movie opens at midnight tonight.

The marketing campaign is in high gear. And lest you think that marketing ever sleeps, consider that we were booked to reserve time for actor Miguel Ferrer to come in and do voice over for a :60 radio commercial for Indiana Jones and the Search for the Crystal Skull just hours before it opens.

The script is focused on the opening weekend - which happens to be a 3 day Memorial Day holiday here in the States.

Miguel was great to work with and it was fun to see a pro do the "Movie Promo" voice for a real summer blockbuster.

Compliments and thanks too for Suzanne and everyone at Buddha Jones Studio in Hollywood which connected with the Production Room Santa Barbara by ISDN!

Greetings From Canada

2008-05-07T15:03:00.000-07:00

First things first. I'm currently blogging from Prince Edward Island, Canada. A place few in the western US have heard of. PEI is the smallest province in Canada and it casually lounges off the East Coast across from Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. (Think Maine and go north east.)

I'm four time zones east of LA and one time zone east of New York. I don't have a TV. Just dial up internet and the CBC radio (think NPR). I also have the the local weekly newspaper (The Eastern Graphic)which doesn't have much good to say about the prospects for the island's principle industries of fishing, farming, tourism and the Liberal Provincial Government.

Why am I here? Check the Dunn Creek Farm blog. I'll be updating that after scribbling some notes on Canada and the US election.

* * * * *

CANADA'S ELECTION COVERAGE

Coming here has made me realize just how thoroughly the media in the States have sucked the air out of the room by hyperventilating over the minutia of this election.
Wow, I can breathe again! No talk radio. No 24 hour spin channels, just news summaries on the hour and a full half hour national news broadcast at 6:00 PM.

I woke at 6 this morning to the news that Obama had crushed Clinton in North Carolina and that she had barely won a squeaker in the early hours in Indiana.

CBC had a no nonsense, "just the facts" report with some sound bites that
told me what I needed to know. Obama sounded jubilant while Clinton said, "He wins one then I win one - this election is so close!" Yeah. Except that it isn't.

To Canadians who don't live in our media bubble but are very much interested in the election there is really only one issue. The Bush Presidency is nearly over.

The locals here (think white, working class) are surprised that America has been effectively supporting a black guy named Barack Hussein Obama over Hillary Clinton. One gets the feeling that this shouldn't be possible in the America they know so much about. "Can he win?" I was asked. "He's winning." I said.

* * * * *

HILLARY - THE GIBBERISH IS WEARING THIN

From what little I've been able to see here, the facts already on the table are making it clear that time is running out for the plucky little non-elitest, "just like you" former First Lady and independently wealthy Senator from New York.

After news that she "lent" herself another 9 million dollars of her egg money to stay in the race (how's that feel Chelsea?) she keeps stumping for the no-win issue of Michigan and Florida and contrary delegate math that says she ought to invest in a hedge fund and get back to work in the Senate.

I can't help but gloat a bit that the candidate which smeared Obama as elitist decided she could afford to write a 9 million dollar personal check to the campaign. How'd that turn out for Mitt Romney?

Obama has now erased her delegate gain in PA, increased his popular vote margin, won another state and keeps raising more money with an effective organization. What's left for her to show us? A graceful concession would be nice.

Screw it - I'm Moving to Canada

2008-05-01T22:22:00.001-07:00

Yes friends, I am moving the blog to Canada.

Why? Because I can. And because free health care and cheap lobster sound good to me.
Also because I own an organic farm on Prince Edward Island and it's time for spring planting. So I'll be packing up the studio gear in California and heading for the Great White North.

Yes, Canada. The other first world North American Democracy that doesn't care what Stephen Harper says. Harper decided to become a Bush Conservative as Bush himself hit a new low in approval ratings.

So I'll pick up the blog in a few days - when I have a chance to hear what CBC Radio 1 has to say about American politics. That ought to be pretty good reading here.

And before you feel all cocky about being home in the States while I plant produce in the north...Canada owns more oil and natural gas than almost anybody. That means my farm is valued in petro dollars while your So Cal condo withers in a market so depleted that your hourly wage hovers just above third world status.

It's not like I'm going to get rich growing organic produce. But I will have plenty of cheap food to eat this summer. And as soon as global warming makes it possible to grow wine grapes, citrus and palm trees, or somebody decides to start another global war, I'm gone for good!

Iran / US Situation Should be Front and Center

2008-04-30T08:38:00.000-07:00

Hey - Look Over There! Part 2

The rhetoric has been ramping up. Iran is shifting to attack a weak US dollar. The Cold War between the US and Iran is getting hotter and the potential for disaster is greater now than it has been in months.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Let's review:

From CNN.Com World Business

"The dollar has totally been removed from Iran's oil transactions," Oil Ministry official Hojjatollah Ghanimifard told state-run television Wednesday. "We have agreed with all of our crude oil customers to do our transactions in non-dollar currencies."

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called the depreciating dollar a "worthless piece of paper" at a rare summit last year in Saudi Arabia attended by state leaders from OPEC countries.

Gates Sends "Reminder" to Iran

MEXICO CITY — Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday that sending a second U.S. aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf could serve as a "reminder" to Iran, but he said it's not an escalation of force.

Speaking to reporters after meeting with Mexican leaders, Gates said heightening U.S. criticism of Iran and its support for terror groups is not a signal that the administration is laying the groundwork for a strike against Tehran.

A senior US navy spokesman, however, told FOX News that the USS Lincoln already is in the gulf and is carrying out a normal rotation with the USS Truman, which will soon be heading home. The overlap is expected to be brief, the spokesman said, adding, "think hours, not days."

Gates said the number of ships in the gulf rises and falls continuously. He said he doesn't expect there to two carriers there for a long time.

Asked if the carrier move went hand in hand with the rising U.S. rhetoric against Iran, Gates said, "I don't see it as an escalation. I think it could be seen, though, as a reminder." - Fox News

So don't expect them to be there long. But as long as we're there...

Why isn't the media curious about the moves the White House is making? Why aren't they being pressed to explain what our policy is?

It seems to be, "Do what we say...or ELSE!"

Wright: No Longer Preaching to the Choir

2008-04-29T21:34:00.001-07:00

I saw Rev. Wright on Bill Moyer's Journal.
I heard excerpts from his following remarks to the Press Club.

The man is currently a fish with no water. In his church he could howl out a fiery sermon, call for an AMEN - and get it every time. Now removed from his pulpit he stands at the national podium. And the AMENS aren't coming from mainstream Americans who aren't used to getting on their feet and shouting out in church. In the public forum, we're conditioned to watch passively as media delivers his message. Then we turn to one another and say, "Oh dear."

* * * *

Obama Checked.

The white queen is in play and Obama finds he must sacrifice his black bishop.
This isn't good. He has lost the offense and is losing on defense.

* * * *

The Conservative Double Standard

Remember Ted Haggrd?
You should remember him:

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The megachurch founded by Pastor Ted Haggard said Tuesday he has prematurely ended a "spiritual restoration" process begun when he was fired for sexual misconduct.

Haggard was fired from New Life Church and resigned as president of the National Association of Evangelicals in November 2006 after a former male prostitute alleged they had a cash-for-sex relationship. The man also said he saw Haggard use methamphetamine. (Fox News)

"President of the National Association of Evangelicals"? Can we talk about the white church?

This guy even had access to President Bush and White House Policy Decisions:

WASHINGTON - As president of the National Association of Evangelicals, the Rev. Ted Haggard has advised the White House on issues ranging from judicial appointments to steel tariffs.

But he also sought to widen the agenda of Christian evangelicals into areas the Bush administration - and many of his Christian brethren - would rather avoid.

Haggard resigned as president of the association, which says it represents about 30 million evangelical church members, and took a leave as senior pastor of the 14,000-member New Life Church in Colorado Springs amid allegations that he paid a gay former escort for sex and drugs.

Although he had been active in lobbying for conservative Christian causes before, Haggard's profile rose after he became head of the NAE early in 2003.

He made frequent visits to the White House and was included in a select group of religious leaders briefed on the administration's agenda during a weekly teleconference with White House staff, a session meant to "feel the evangelical pulse," he's said.

"We have direct access (to the White House)," Haggard told a Wall Street Journal reporter shortly before the last presidential election, adding that he could take a concern to the president through staff and get a response within 24 hours. - Rocky Mountain News

Judicial appointments and STEEL TARRIFFS? Do YOU see anything wrong with this picture?

I'm sure Haggard wore his flag lapel pin and never said, "God Damn America"
He just repeatedly hired a male prostitute and did meth.

One of these preachers ought to cost somebody an election. Kind of odd that it won't be the white guy. I guess it's because he's a good American.

* * * *

UPDATE 4/30/08

John Nichols absolutely nails it in The Nation:

Wright, Jefferson and the Wrath of God

In more ways than Republican and now Democratic critics seem prepared to admit, Wright is the embodiment of an American religious and political tradition of challenging the country's sins while calling it to the higher ground that extends from the founding of the republic. No less a figure than Thomas Jefferson -- who constructed that wall of separation between church and state but who worried a good deal about questions of the divine -- worried openly about the retribution that would befall a nation that permitted slavery.

Do it Yourself!

2008-04-28T13:33:00.000-07:00

Yes, Corporate America's Mantra is, "Do it Yourself". We'll collect your personal data and send you the bill.

When my internet service is down, Verizon will helpfully suggest that I go on line and trouble shoot the problem.

When an airline site won't allow me to process a booking after I've spent an hour trying to find the flight I want, I'm led back to a home page that suggests that it's faster and easier to book online.

It's in that spirit that I present today's blog post, which will save you the time it takes me to read the news and comment.

Todays Headlines and Instant Analysis

Will Rev Wright Hurt Obama?

___ Yes ___ No

Is the Race Hurting the Democrats?

___ Yes ___ No

Is Race an Issue in the Race?

___ Yes ___ No

Does Rev Wright loves America as much as you do?

___ Yes ___ No

Now you can probably guess why journalists used to learn that they shouldn't ask yes or no questions. Someone please memo this over to ABC.

* * * *

When I started working in radio, we had an old AP teletype that was kept in a filthy shower stall next to a toilet. You could take a leak and watch the latest bulletins from the national wire. That was NEWS!

* * * *

Do it Yourself Blog Part 2:

Here's a link to NPR's Day to Day program that aired today. The section titled, "When Should One Retire" contains an interview with Frank Newton that was recorded via ISDN from the Production Room last week. Alex Chadwick is the host and if you want to hear how good our studio is - go listen for yourself.

* * * *

Today's Funny from Weird TV

(You'll have to click the link or get the embed code from bliptv.)

* * * *

Thanks for reading the blog. Your eyes are important to us.
If there's anything you need, don't hesitate to allow us
to encourage you to do it yourself.

GOP Endorses Clinton

2008-04-26T09:37:00.000-07:00

Who would Republicans rather face in November?

While Dems are wondering who will get the nod, Hillary is probably hoping that Uber Delegates won't notice that the GOP is putting it's money on her by running negative TV ads against Barack Obama.

Carl Hulse wrote the following article today for the NY Times which starts with the headline:

G.O.P. Now Sees Obama as Liability for Ticket

Clear enough but wrong.

The article states:

“There were times when Republicans reacted with just horror that he would lead the ticket,” said Stuart Rothenberg, a nonpartisan political analyst. “Now there is not the sense of him being invulnerable, the magic bullet. I think there has been a major change.”

"The growing Republican emphasis on Mr. Obama could also help Mrs. Clinton plead her case that she is more electable, bolstering her argument to superdelegates that Republicans are poised to pounce on her relatively untested opponent. Her advisers have been frustrated that some top Democrats rate Mrs. Clinton a greater liability for the party’s candidates in conservative parts of the country — a view still held by some strategists — even though she has shown a capacity to withstand Republican attacks.

At the same time, some Democrats privately said the new Republican push could be a backdoor effort to buoy Mrs. Clinton, the candidate Republicans initially saw as the Democrat who would most rally Republicans and spur fund-raising. It has not been lost on Republican strategists that they can give pause to superdelegates leaning toward endorsing Mr. Obama."

It's a twofer. Keep Obama out of a race that will enlarge the Democratic Parrty and then defeat Clinton in November with the same strategy that won in 2000 and 2004.

Time for War with Iran!

2008-04-25T10:03:00.000-07:00

In a case of "Hey, look over there!" - and by using the distraction of an election - the White House continues to maneuver us toward war with Iran.

John McCain approves. So does Hillary Clinton. With a vote to authorize force and a public statement about obliterating Iran she's already on record.

Check these headlines:

Top US officer warns of Iran efforts in Iraq, region

Joint Chiefs Chairman Says U.S. Preparing Military Options Against Iran

Mullen's statements and others by Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently signal a new rhetorical onslaught by the Bush administration against Iran, amid what officials say is increased Iranian provision of weapons, training, and financing to Iraqi groups that are attacking and killing Americans.

In a speech Monday at West Point, Gates said that Iran "is hell-bent on acquiring nuclear weapons." He said a war with Iran would be "disastrous on a number of levels. But the military option must be kept on the table given the destabilizing policies of the regime and the risks inherent in a future Iranian nuclear threat."

Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, who was nominated this week to head all U.S. forces in the Middle East, is preparing a briefing soon to lay out detailed evidence of increased Iranian involvement in Iraq, Mullen said. The briefing will detail, for example, the discovery in Iraq of weapons that were very recently manufactured in Iran, he said.

This just might be more important than...anything else I can think of.

Campaign Media Roundup

2008-04-25T08:33:00.000-07:00

"The persons who have heard the entire sermon understand the communication perfectly," he told PBS' Bill Moyers in the interview to be broadcast on Friday.

Those who are airing the snippets "are communicating exactly what they want to do, which is to paint me as some sort of fanatic."

So - who IS Jeremiah Wright? As he points out - he's whoever you want him to be. I compared him to John Brown. Is he actually the Bogeyman?

"In the Moyers interview, a soft-spoken Wright expresses his horror that the media has made him a bogeyman, endlessly replaying sound bites of fiery sermons which he claims were taken out of context."

- from ABC News Olivia Stearns and David Wright

Hold on there ABC - He "claims" they were taken out of context? No, they ARE being taken out of context. Those words were not spoken as part of any presidential campaign. They were spoken in the heat of a sermon at a black church in Chicago - before Obama was a candidate. But they are today being applied to Obama during his presidential campaign. That is out of context. Unless you're Sean Hannity. See the difference?

Methinks ABC is still a bit prickly about the heat they took after the last debate.

Here's A great note from Don Frederick at "Top of the Ticket"

North Carolinians aren't biased; just ask 'em

A delicious dispatch from the "I'm perfect, you're not" view-of-the-universe department ...

As a prelude to North Carolina's May 6 Democratic presidential primary, state voters recently were asked about prejudices. As related by the Raleigh News & Observer, here's what the poll found:

* A whoppingly large number -- 91% -- said race would not affect their political decisions -- but 54% said they knew someone who would not cast a ballot for a black.

* A candidate's gender, 79% said, would make no difference to them -- but 63% said they knew someone who would not vote for a woman.

The survey by Elon University also looked ahead to the fall election that will feature Republican John McCain trying to become the oldest person elected to a first presidential term.

No problem, 66% said, age would not be a factor in their vote -- but 44% said they knew someone who would not support someone they viewed as "too old."

Nice to know there are so many open-minded folks in the Tar Heel State. Too bad about so many of their neighbors, though.

-- Don Frederick

...yes and if you're a cop in NY you can shoot a guy 50 times because you know he's guilty. We don't need no stinkin' assumption of innocence until proven guilty.

Also from Top of The Ticket and Andrew Malcolm -

Barack Obama to meet unconditionally with dreaded 'Fox News Sunday'!

The shifting political race has candidates jockeying for position and "pivoting"(the new favorite talking point word of this election) on issues.

With so many people interested in election news - the networks are "pivoting" to win ad dollars. So quien es mas macho? FOX or ABC?

Jeremiah Wright is our John Brown

2008-04-24T20:30:00.000-07:00

I'm afraid to write this post. The weight of history is heavy on this topic.

The potential for hate and evil resulting from this comparison are great. But the strong parallel Between Barack Obama and Jeremiah Wright and Abraham Lincoln and John Brown struck like a thunderbolt tonight when I read that Rev. Wright had been interviewed by PBS and that his remarks were already stirring new, hostile reactions against Barack Obama in the American public.

For those educated in California public schools, here's an introduction to John Brown:

John Brown (May 9, 1800 – December 2, 1859) was a white American abolitionist who advocated and practiced armed insurrection as a means to abolish all slavery. He led the Pottawatomie Massacre in 1856 in Bleeding Kansas and the unsuccessful raid at Harpers Ferry in 1859.

President Abraham Lincoln said he was a "misguided fanatic" and Brown has been called "the most controversial of all 19th-century Americans."[1] His attempt in 1859 to start a liberation movement among enslaved African Americans in Harpers Ferry, Virginia, electrified the nation. He was tried for treason against the state of Virginia and was hanged, but his behavior at the trial seemed heroic to millions of Americans. Southerners alleged that his rebellion was the tip of the abolitionist iceberg and represented the wishes of the Republican Party, but those charges were vehemently denied by the Republicans. Historians agree that the Harpers Ferry raid in 1859 escalated tensions that a year later led to secession and the American Civil War.

Barack Obama is the modern embodiment of that old Republican, Abraham Lincoln. In Lincoln's time, being Republican meant standing up for the values of the Republic over the values of the special or, "peculiar" interest of capital, i.e., the slave owners. In 1860 he was referred to by hostile partisans as a "Black Republican" and you are free to read into that any extension of evil darkness and race based prejudice you'd care to mention. Today, Obama obliquely identifies himself for the values of the Republic against the "peculiar" interests of modern capitalists.

More about Brown:

"Historians agree John Brown played a major role in starting the Civil War.[4] His role and actions prior to the Civil War, as an abolitionist, and the tactics he chose still make him a controversial figure today. He is sometimes heralded as a heroic martyr and a visionary and sometimes vilified as a madman and a terrorist; black scholars have consistently held the first viewpoint while those who apologize for black slavery have held the second; those belonging to neither category have held various views. While some writers, such as Bruce Olds, describe him as a monomaniacal zealot, others, such as Stephen B. Oates, regard him as "one of the most perceptive human beings of his generation." David S. Reynolds hails the man who "killed slavery, sparked the civil war, and seeded civil rights" and Richard Owen Boyer emphasizes that Brown was "an American who gave his life that millions of other Americans might be free." For Ken Chowder he is "at certain times, a great man", but also "the father of American terrorism."

Please - I'm not suggesting that Rev. Wright is a terrorist but I am assuming that he can be seen as a controversial figure. I'm also not defending Rev. Wright or his words. He has injured my favorite candidate and I wish he had never said anything to offend the good and decent people of this nation. But I will go on with this comparison.

John Brown saw the evil of slavery and declared himself violently opposed to it. Reverend Wright saw the injustice of America and as he wiped the blood of it on our hands we were unwillingly brought to shocking awareness of what some people believe.

No matter how hard the 1860 Republicans tried to repudiate the actions of John Brown and his words, no matter how meticulous Abraham Lincoln was in observing the Constitutional rights of slave owners, history records the clear impression that Lincoln carried forward the mission of John Brown to rid the nation of of slavery.
And make no mistake, John Brown condemned America for allowing oppression under law.

Lincoln distanced himself from Brown. Obama distances himself from Wright. But guilt by association has been assigned to both Lincoln and Obama for all time.

Now for myself, I am a Lincoln man.

I will accept Lincoln's association with the guilt of one John Brown in exchange for the redemption of millions of slaves to freedom.

And I am an Obama man. I will accept Obama's association with the guiltly words of one Jeremiah Wright in exchange for a new birth of American freedom.

Barack Obama's association with Reverend Wright is as radical as Abraham Lincoln's association with John Brown. Neither is real. Yet they scare the hell out of us. That is what challenges us to look carefully at his election.

Obama is betting that America can look beyond race and that he can win the Presidency. Others calmly declare that we are still a racist nation and that he can't possibly win.

For the sake of my country, I'd rather bet on Obama and lose than bet on racism and win.

Who Forgot America?

2008-04-24T12:10:00.000-07:00

John McCain is talking poverty in America's forgotten places.

Hmmm.

Maybe this is why Conservative Republicans have so much trouble with him.

First, Conservative doctrine says that poor people are responsible for being poor. McCain is blaming our government for not solving the problem - hastily adding that it isn't supposed to. McCain does say he'll help the poor without all that wasteful government spending.

Right. The best way to help the poor is to give tax breaks to the rich and extend credit to people with no money.

We've had a Republican President for 7 years who had a Republican Senate and until '06 a Republican House.

Do Conservatives really want John McCain to remind us who forgot about America? Don't we have more poor people now than we did before the two terms of this Republican administration?

Thanks for reminding us.

Somebody Should State The Obvious

2008-04-24T10:14:00.000-07:00

Pundits and reporters like to post speculations that are framed to answer their own assumptions at the expense of the obvious truth.

The New York Times Adam Nagourney provides a great example.

"For Obama, a Struggle to Win Over Key Blocs"

It is the question that has hung over Senator Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, and it loomed large on Tuesday night after his loss to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in Pennsylvania: Why has he been unable to win over enough working-class and white voters to wrap up the Democratic nomination?

Hey Adam, here's what's making Obama struggle with working class white voters: Hillary Clinton is still in the race. That's right Adam, if she had dropped out last week, he would have killed in PA.

Do you really think these voters will pick a Republican this year? And if they will does it matter who the Democrats nominate?

This has been my problem with Hillary all along. Her base is White Conservative /Independent voters. That makes her just like John McCain. She's been running to the right since she started. She failed to run for the support of her own party. Instead, she blew off partisan support and ran headlong into the minefield of no man's land.

So If she wins the Democratic nomination I have to decide whether to elect the woman who votes like John McCain, or the man who actually is John McCain.

Voice Over News And Studio Updates

2008-04-23T15:25:00.000-07:00

Here's the latest on the good old wholesome bidness of media production and voice work here at The Production Room.

I'll share another hot tip about voice work, link you to a cool story about microphones and hook you up with our latest project news for NPR, CBC radio, Channel Islands National Park and an Animated Industrial Video for Healthcare Heat.

* * * *

But First...

How NOT to Get Into Pro Voice Work:

* * * *

NPR All things Considered had this great story about a Virginia couple who replicate classic microphones. Also includes a great introduction to the story of German microphone development. Lots of fun! Listen

* * * *

Speaking of NPR - on Monday we provided isdn service to NPR's Alex Chadwick at NPR West in Los Angeles for a segment upcoming on "Day to Day". I will try to provide the link when available.

* * * *

CBC's Anna Maria Tremonti connected with us from Toronto to interview author Brian Fagan about the historic record and the effects of climate change on human beings trough the centuries. That program aired April 22 on "The Current" from CBC Radio 1.
Listen to Segment 3

* * * *

Michael Hanrahan of the Ocean Channel has once again engaged the voice of yours truly and the studio at the Production Room to record voice tracks for a new film to be played at the Visitor Center of Channel Islands National Park.

The new film is similar to a project Ocean Channel did about the environmental restoration of Santa Cruz Island which I narrated from our farm in Canada last summer. Check out this film, "Santa Cruz Island - Crisis To Recovery" on The Ocean Channel.

* * * *

Jay Barry Colin is a youthful 68 years. He's retired. He has succeeded in building a business and prosperity that allows him to live however he likes. Mr. Colin has decided that he would like to keep working.

He arrived at my door with a remarkable project: tell the medical world about Healthcare Heat. It's a new system that uses heat sterilization in operating rooms to help stop hospital infection.

Jay told me that 99,000 people died of infection in US hospitals in 2007, and he wants to put a stop to it.

As we were preparing to finish recording the voice tracks for the video he said, "This is going to change everything. It's a nice leave behind that you and I are all part of. We're going to save lives."

You know something? That's not bad for a 90 minute session.

The End of Bon Homme Barack?

2008-04-23T08:31:00.001-07:00

Hillary Clinton won big.

Make no mistake, this is a huge blow to Obama. He could have made miles of progress by knocking her out. And he COULD have knocked her out if he had learned what the Clinton's already know about dropping the out of context sound bite, the talking up of contradictory positions, the ability to lie with a straight face and the ready willingness to land a cheap shot to the package. Somehow this works on the very voters he's trying win over - people who know that life isn't fair and you'd better not show up with eloquent words at a knife fight.

And Hillary finally got the knife fight David Gergen mentioned months ago. She got a lot of help from Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopolis who acted like drunks cheering on a bar fight. At the end Obama looked like Bad Bad Leroy Brown. In the process she made herself look like a low class roughneck. And guess what - it worked. Problem was, Obama didn't look like the kind of man who could make this loud mouth broad shut the hell up.

...and that IS the problem for Obama.

Working women LOVE Hillary - in big numbers. They'll give her a pass for hitting a man below the belt. They won't forgive him for giving her a public thrashing - even as they acknowledge that she probably has one coming. But guess what? Obama has to BEAT her - decisively. The public won't support a President who can't defend himself.

So he has two choices going forward.

He can drop the high toned, Good Guy Barack rhetoric, strip to the waist and shred her to bits in an Ultimate Fighting Championship bout (which ABC will gladly pimp for big commercial bucks) and which nobody will win. American women will then spring to Hillary's defense and declare that Barack has gone bad and that he hates women (in fact they'll say, "he's always hated women...").

Or Senator Obama can pack his bags and move on to Indiana where he has another chance to win. If I were him, I'd re-package some of his policy talk ups and hit her hard on her strongest points. Obama needs to flip the table, call her out and force her to defend her conservative politics.

As McCain sucks up to the "Forgotten America" (aparantly, when you're an old Republican it's possible to forget a lot of people in America.) Hillary currently looks like the only Republican in a three man race.

Another bit of advice for Obama:

The media is currently so partisan and is held in such low regard by the public that it will be perfectly okay to tell Charlie Gibson that he's full of crap the next time he asks you a stupid question. Bill Clinton gave a great example of how to do this yesterday even as a reporter caught him in an outright lie.

See? Experience counts!

American Idol Politics

2008-04-17T08:33:00.000-07:00

I didn't watch the debate.

I'm more interested in the debate watchers.
The blogs are buzzing this morning. And since perception is everything when it comes to a made for TV event like American Idol or a political debate, is it any wonder that the topics of conversation were created by and are a reaction to the media as much as the candidates.

I find the online comments interesting.

"In PA Debate The Clear Loser is ABC"

Lot's of criticism for ABC for it's handling of a potentially major event.

"The Samsonite Argument"

This one I find interesting because of what it refers to. Hillary is reduced to a direct appeal to super delegates that she can withstand a Republican attack in the Fall. It goes like this -

"I've been in this arena for a long time. I have a lot of baggage, and everybody has rummaged through it for years," she said. Therefore, she argued, "I will be able to withstand whatever the Republican sends our way."

WTF? I have a lot of bad news in my background that everyone knows about, therefore I'm more electable? What kind of argument is THAT?

Her recent position is this, "If you think the stuff people have made up about Obama is bad, imagine how awful the facts must be!"

OK, Hillary I can dig up a zillion references that "prove" you are a lesbian. This kind of campaigning stinks and it's the reason the blowback from her campaign is going to hurt her at least as much as it hurts him.

Clearly Obama's remarks last week have become a sore spot and supporters like me resent that it's still a topic of conversation. At a moment in history when failed market speculation threatens the global economy, food shortages and record high oil prices are about to spark global unrest and experts are saying that fresh water is poised to be the new oil - ABC NEWS wants to focus on the choice of one adjective in a private conversation.

Welcome to American Idol Politics, where media figures present other people's opinions as questions and then pick your next president for you.

How about if we vote on it.

Label Makers

2008-04-15T08:59:00.001-07:00

Hey kids, let's see which labels will stick:

Elitest: Slapped on Obama by Hillary Clinton and John McCain.

Defined:
Adjective

elite (comparative more elite, superlative most elite)

1. Of high birth or social position; aristocratic or patrician.

Noun

1. (uncountable) A special group or social class of people which have a superior intellectual, social or economic status as, the elite of society.
2. (countable) Someone who is among the best at certain task.

I'll take the elitist over my current "C Student" President any time.

But what you probably want to know is, "What Kind of Elitist Are You"
Follow the link and find out.

Warmonger: Slapped on John McCain by Ed Schultz

Defined: (Merriam Webster online) And in a bit of weird on-line humor, this page contained an ad for John McCain for President on it.

warmonger
One entry found.

warmonger

Main Entry:
war·mon·ger
Pronunciation:
\ˈwȯr-ˌməŋ-gər, -ˌmäŋ-\
Function:
noun
Date:
1817

: one who urges or attempts to stir up war

I'll add that war-monger literally means one who sells war - as in the old English term fish-monger.

Losing The Clinton Legacy

2008-04-14T13:19:00.001-07:00

The truth is that Hillary Clinton is a good candidate.

The truth is that Hillary Clinton wouldn't be running for President if her husband had not been President.

The truth is that the latest kerfuffle isn't about small town America or what Obama meant to say about the voters of PA.

This whole skirmish is about the shot Senator Obama took at Bill Clinton.

Did you get that?

This is all about the legacy of Bill Clinton.

Barack Obama is set to cast a long shadow over President Clinton as a leader American Democrats revere. And that leaves Bill Clinton forever defined as a less important figure who was impeached for getting a blow job in the Oval office.

By saying that rural America has been skidding into despair for 25 years Senator Obama erased the Clinton Presidency.

The greatest gamble for the Clinton's isn't just losing an election. At stake here is nothing less than the Clinton legacy. It's now becoming clear how high the cost of staying in and losing the race may be for the Clintons.

UPDATE:
Maureen Dowd makes this same point really well in an April 13 column of the NYT

UPDATE: 4/14/08 6:48 PDT

Karl Rove created the strategy of "God,Guns and Gays" he used it to bring out the evangelical vote in 2004.

Super Weekend Blog Plost

2008-04-11T19:08:00.000-07:00

OK, I've put on the ZZ Top - Time to rack up another load 'O fun for the weekend. Let's rock.

* * * * *

HEADLINES

We'll have a clip of Senator Obama demonstrating how many ways he can kick your ass if you try to call him out on something he said.

There are some great links from Contributor Ray McInnis

A link to the dirtbox.tv blog and their new 23 hour news channel (You have to guess which hour they are off the air.)

We'll have the poetry of Steve Connell and his video, "Mission Accomplished" which leads me to...

A few moments with the 1965 Russ Meyer flick "Faster Pussycat, Kill Kill!

And Today's Funny about political pundits from National Banana!

$ $ $ $ $

SNAP!

Verbal sparring is one thing. A Verbal butt kicking is something else.
Both Senator Clinton and Senator McCain (funny how in concert they are)launched a shot claiming Obama's remarks at a fundraiser about PA voters was "elitest". On the same day (no time for focus groups) he nimbly returned the shot to score points in Indiana. Watch the clip below and notice that the Senator isn't reading notes or a teleprompter in his response...

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...as Steve Martin once said, "Hey, this guy's GOOD."

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YOUR CONTRIBUTOR AT WORK

I hope Ray McInnis won't mind if I mention that he was a professional research librarian and has been a long time blogger and blog commenter.

So I'm flattered that he takes the time to research and forward comments and links he think might be useful.

First, I want to file what Ray found and commented on as a result of some offline chat he and I had this week about campaign financing:

Bloomberg article linked below notes that Obama is winning argument that gathering funds via internet is form of public funding.

In his quest for election of president in 2000 and 2004, George Bush amassed unbelievable amounts – from his rich supporters – and, cynically, we all knew that donors would get good returns on their investment.

In 2008, Obama will soon match that figure, but with over 2,000,000 small donors. Rightly, I think, Obama argues that using the internet in this fashion, where his donors stay well under the $2300 limit for individuals, is within the spirit of campaign finance laws.

Irony of ironies, McCain is one of the authors of the legislation. Will he sit still for this type of logic from Obama? I think that he will, because given the temper of the public today, and the parallel economic conditions – recession, mortgage meltdown, gas prices -- among liberals and conservatives alike, argues for me that public opinion, will favor this evolution of the campaign finance law.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=ax.vqApEj52k&refer=politics

...

Parallel System

He suggested this week that he may reject government money, becoming the first presidential candidate since 1976 to do so, arguing that his broad base of support is a form of public financing.

``We have created a parallel public-financing system where the American people decide if they want to support a campaign, they can get on the Internet and finance it,'' he told supporters at an April 8 fundraiser in Washington. ``And they will have as much access and influence over the course and direction of our campaign that has traditionally reserved for the wealthy and the powerful.''

Should Obama opt out of the system, he will face only muted criticism, said Steve Grossman, a former Democratic National Committee national chairman who is a fundraiser for Obama's Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.

``I don't think you get penalized when essentially you've gone from a system that was dominated by wealthy people and entities to a system where millions of people are funding it,'' Grossman said. ``That's democracy in action.''

- couple of disconnects here, as obama ad discloses tauzin -- former congressman -- draws $2 mil annually lobbying for big pharm

http://time-blog.com/real_clear_politics/2008/04/obama_billy.html

bogging years ago, I was claiming the billy tauzin left congress for a $1 mil annual lobbying job for big pharm, and of course, I was in disbelief – and disgusted -- at the amount.

(Remember that tauzin chaired the committee for years that had jurisdiction over big pharm, and that – reputedly, big pharm spends $1 mil/congressman senate and house annually -- for protective legislation.)

Well, turns out I was wrong. The annual amount paid tauzin was double $2 mil.

Now, though,an obama ad shows us that he is drawing bead on this outrage. Let’s hope it gets some traction.

You know, I follow media and messaging. Ray follows his nose and digs up facts. For an opinionator like me, this stuff is gold.

* * * * *

YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK

Finally from Ray, a subject near and dear to all of us who have to part with the lean green on April 15th. Where do your tax dollars go?

Check out this report for 2008 from the National Priorities Project

* * * * *

DIRTBLOG

Yes I do get paid for writing. And since November I've been getting paid to write content for dirtbox.tv. It's web based satire with video clips, a blog and even an opportunity for you to watch the BSN news network live via a link from dirtblog page.

Check out the headlines and keep checking next week for new videos and content.

* * * * *

TELL US THE MISSION

Steve Connell was in Santa Barbara recently. His website "Tell Us The Mission" is a great place to visit (Be sure to re-write the Mission Accomplished sign behind President Bush) and a good link to this intense young urban flavored poet. Check out the video below, "Mission Accomplished" from 2003.

Mr Connell visited Teenager's High School lately and he got me hip to the link.

* * * * *

FASTER PUSSYCAT...

When I visited "Tell us the Mission" (above) I had to write on the banner. Being the guy I am I wrote, "Faster Pussycat, Kill Kill!" 'cause it was funny. From there I had to Google this weird film classic from the '60's. I found this:

What Can I Say?

* * * * *

TODAY"S FUNNY

The Zucker Brothers are alive and funny. If your read the pundits, you have to see this clip from National Banana:

From Crackle: Webcam Pundits

* * * * *

Have a great Weekend!

Words Mean Things

2008-04-10T21:12:00.000-07:00

Oh, who can forget Hillary Clinton alleging that Senator Obama had nothing to offer but words.

And I seem to remember predicting that certain Conservative radio voices would trip over their tongues and be unable to negotiate the rapids of race in the political stream of consciousness that is American talk radio.

Well, I was surprised to notice this week that the first casualty on the talk radio front wasn't one of the Conservatives, but one of the loudest voices on the Left.

Randi Rhodes has left Air America over remarks she made at an affiliate event in San Francisco. Oh, the irony. Air America - prescribed antidote to the controlled message of Corporate media did the corporate thing and gagged it's most popular talker for being offensive. And after they checked with attorneys who defined the word exposure and the word slander, they did the mental math that says: exposure plus slander plus offensive equals suspended.

So she quit.

Now, I don't know what the Clinton campaign said or did. But Hillary Clinton is a lawyer. She knows lawyers. Lawyers know how to fire off threatening letters like my kids know how to mess up the house. It comes with the job. So let's assume there were words between the campaign and Air America about the words used by Randi Rhodes.

I know I once said some things I shouldn't have about an ex-girlfriend and I said them on an afternoon radio show when I was a top 40 DJ. I didn't call her a whore...exactly...and I didn't mention her name. But I wasn't prudent or kind.

And if she ever finds this post I hereby offer my apologies and I beg her pardon.

On the day I made my remarks I found out I that I had threatened my job and my employer. Her new boyfriend showed up to defend her honor. Jim Ranger was an old school broadcaster; a Reagan Conservative who built his broadcasting business as a local owner. He sat in his private office and listened to the story he was told by the offended party and promised the man he would deal with it. The plaintiff continued hotly and at one point made a legal threat - at which point he was shown the door and loudly told to get lost.

Later I heard a few quiet words from Jim explaining that what I had done was wrong. He told me it was wrong because my career, my interests, the interests of the business he owned and the community we served were bigger than whatever I thought I needed to say about one woman. A little self control - in my own interest - was all he asked me for. And we never spoke of it again.

Aside from the fact that Air America has made a lot of rookie mistakes and has indulged itself in plenty of poor programming choices made by people who aren't career broadcasters, it has now made the huge mistake of not standing up for it's flagship talent in public. They sacrificed their credibility and the ability of other hosts to continue to speak freely. Why? Because somebody lost their nerve.
National talk radio is hardball. Trash talk is part of the game. Talk radio will continue. But Air America has again proven that it isn't ready for the major leagues.

And Randi? To quote Good Morning Viet Nam, "You're mean. And this is just radio."

Reconstruction - Est. April 9, 1865

2008-04-09T18:56:00.000-07:00

Today is the Fifth Anniversary of the Fall of Baghdad to US troops. I just heard that on Fox News Radio. I noticed they didn't bother to cloak it either. The days of referring to "coalition forces" are long gone. Just think, we could have declared victory and left Iraq on April 10th, 2003.

Today is also the date of General Robert E. Lee's surrender to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, VA.

April 9th, 1865 was Palm Sunday. The Federal Government declared victory and then left all of our people to negotiate what victory meant for the next 150 years.

It's easy to forget that Federal occupation and martial law lasted until 1876 in some southern states. The war ended with no real plan for economic rebuilding of the south (although private capital "investment" from the North was seen as a solution) and there was no Federal plan for freed slaves except - KEEP 'EM IN THE SOUTH!

April 9th was not really the end of the Civil War. More accurately it was only the beginning of Re-construction and the evidence says we're not done yet. The closing military act in our Civil War was not only the first surrender of an American Army, it is an event that is connected to us by parallel lines of American ideology and culture that compete for control of the country to this day.

A huge emptiness - a vacuum - was created by the collapse of slavery and the south.

In Iraq, we've tried to launch Re-construction DURING a civil war. And when we leave, we will leave a new vacuum in a region full of conflict and violence. So how will we leave? How long will re-construction take in Iraq? How will it be accomplished?

This is a huge topic that I think bears directly on the assumptions people have about this war and this election. I hope to explore this more as time allows in future. But I'm in no hurry. This topic will be alive for another 100 years.

But let me close with these thoughts about our country. The difficulty for America isn't just race, it is culture. Obama isn't just Black, he's a Yankee. But if he is able to win the popular vote across most of the states in November it could finally be said that our Civil War is over.

The issues of race, politics and culture will be forever changed.

from ray -- something to ponder in the PA 'burbs

2008-04-09T18:32:00.000-07:00

Contributor Ray McInnis in the Great Northwest sends some insights about the race in PA for those of us on the outside looking in...

Take it away Ray!

Folks, my google reader brought this piece (pasted below in the gray-shaded area, along with photos and a map) up on my screen this morning.

*** (Note from JQ - this didn't copy into my blog format, so follow the links)

If you are like me, the gist of the piece makes you ponder.

(I am following PA affairs, because in two weeks, we will witness an historic primary in Penn. Since I don’t know PA very well – have been there twice (once to an academic conference in down town Philly, another time on a car-trip from upstate NY to Cincinnati: we stayed over night at the idyllic town, University Park.)

This piece reveals hardship in the suburbs in PA, yes, but – as the writer, Maria Panaritis, says, “it’s duplicated across the nation”.

Here in the Pacific Northwwest, along Puget Sound, a belt of suburbs stretches up I5 from Olympia to just south of Mount Vernon, about 120 miles. (Overall, the population is around 2,000,000, I think. The geography of Puget Sound is what makes WA a “Blue State” – East of the Cascades, in land area much larger, is “Red State”, but vote-wise, is always out voted by the larger, more liberal population west of the Cascades.) While I know only a few families living in the area, the experience of my son and daughter are indicative, I think.

My son – he lives in Seattle near the University -- finally got an ideal job – in computer programming – on the water in Seattle, while my daughter commutes 30 miles each way from a little town outside MV to Bellingham everyday.

My son feels very fortunate that, finally, he can commute daily via Seattle bus to his office> No more frantic daily trips over Lake Washington’s floating bridge to Microsoft at Kirkland, etc.

My daughter’s story is more complicated – her husband just retired after 20 years in the Coast Guard and is now studying for a second career in “Emergency Management”, which he says – rightly I think – merely extends what he did in the CG.

As well as working fulltime as supervisor in a Head Start program, my daughter is in night school at WWU, getting an Master’s in Education.

However, enough personal stuff.

Reading the piece below is revealing.

Why -- if his health insurance is $9000 per year -- is the young man voting for McCain? McCain is going to give him more of the same.

(OK, I know that resolving the health crisis in America will not be a piece of cake. Health care eats up an estimated 20% of the American economy, and at best Obama or Hillary’s plan will be a patchwork job.

But the difference is “commitment”. The two Dems are committed to finding a solution; McCain is “throwing it in the pot”, because he knows “health care’s time has come”.)

A bigger issue, though, is the price of gas. The couple’s gas budget is $3,600 a year. For sure, gas prices are not going down. A drumbeat – daily – pounds into your brain that everyday when you drive. Why? You’re leaving a “carbon imprint”, doing your part to prolong “global warming”, which, some say, the future of civilization pivots on.

Is this really true? We don’t know, but – nonetheless – this thought is always there – weighing on peoples’ consciences, just something else to worry about, certainly – with the worry -- not helping you maintain personal health.

Again, with the price of gas where it is, why is the young man going for McCain. The best McCain promises is Bush III, and as we know, a better friend of a petroleum-based economy than Bush is hard to find!

(Here's the link Ray is referring to from philly.com)

Hey! Get'cher Program Here!

2008-04-07T21:40:00.000-07:00

I read somewhere recently (on somebody's blog)that a good blog should be able to surprise you.

Well, now that my 8 year old has finished playing boats on the counterpane sea and has snuggled down for some ZZZZ's with his all but depleted CPA mother (it is tax season you know!) And Teenager is in bed reading a science fiction adventure, I'm free to share a surprise I found in my never ending obsession to individually will the Obama campaign to victory through prose.

I should first add that Teenager tries to take an interest in my political musings but is far more interested at present in a girl named Jennifer and playing second base on the High School baseball team. And 2nd grader is far more interested in burning things with a magnifying glass and the collection of Tom and Jerry cartoons I bought him than he is with his weekly homework packet or anything I have to say about anything. The wife is more interested in our real life than in my imagined one.

So I'm left with you to join me in this foray.

I find the LA Times "Top of the Ticket" blogs one of those must read items for political analysis these days. Don Frederick and Andrew Malcolm are always a good read.

In the blog today they linked me to wonderful piece of journalism.

This article in the National Journal by James Barnes is like picking up a program at the ball park. "Hey - You can't tell the players without a program." barks the hawker.

This is a solid reference work that told me who the players are on the Obama team.
It's a good read no matter which way you intend to cast your vote.

It also left me feeling that the top of Obama's team thus far is a bit provincial. Mostly Chicago and Harvard based. And while there are a lot of solid people (and a load of former Clinton people) on board, the campaign is going to have to be able to expand a bit to include more local/regional voices if it wants to maintain a grasp on national politics.

Now, even suggesting that Harvard could possibly be provincial would be obscene in some places...but the fact that natural disasters and farm crises, immigration issues and veterans care, jobs and water policy,school districts and real estate collapses are fundamentally local issues in every corner of the land which may not effect a Harvard Scholar...well, you get my drift.

The campaign is going to need some local wisdom in it's national plans. Or it's prone to make the kind of mistakes that turn populists into princes. If nobody knows New Orleans BEFORE the next hurricane hits...well, you know the rest. And when the President's mother helpfully suggests, "They can eat cake!" you know the dream is over.

So that's my surprising surprise. Meanwhile, I've been fighting the flu.
I'm going to bed.

Poison Penn

2008-04-07T08:57:00.000-07:00

Washington Post: Clinton's Chief Strategist Steps Down

When he signed up with Hillary Clinton as chief strategist, some Democrats were concerned about his relatively hawkish views on foreign policy -- he is staunchly pro-Israel and centrist -- and his tendency to keep an eye toward the general election rather than on the primaries.

Penn, a sometimes rumpled and often argumentative figure, struggled from the start with the awkward management structure of the Clinton campaign. Tensions escalated with each of her defeats: Some complained that he was too data-driven and obstinate, and he was blamed for the failure to "humanize" the candidate in the early days of the race.

"Moneyball" only works if you study the right metrics and the game remains static.

For a Moneyball campaigner like Penn, humanity is only a metric and his combative style blew out the good work Candidate Clinton did to humanize herself in debates with Obama.

The Post comment that he kept running toward the general election proves what I've believed; that Clinton has been running to the right instead of running to win the Democratic base. Penn is THE reason the party is split.

I worked in a ratings driven business for years and I learned a lot about reading surveys - the polling data of the commercial market. I also remember being pounded by consultants with numbers that "proved" things I knew were at best unprovable and at worst, dead wrong. In general terms, these statistics are impossible to argue with. So the executives smile and nod and you got automated radio stations programmed by people a thousand miles from your home.

Oh, the Humanity? I don't see any relevant numbers on that.

Rush Pounds The Table

2008-04-03T09:42:00.000-07:00

“When the law is against you, pound the facts, when the facts are against you, pound the law, and when they’re both against you, pound the table”.

Rush Limbaugh isn't working for John McCain for President.
He's working against any liberal (including John McCain) for President.

RUSH: I'll admit it. I don't know what the hell McCain is saying, other than he's spouting some liberal stuff in this speech at Annapolis today about the haves and have-nots. I agree with all that. But I will say this: If he's going to lecture the American people about who they need to be, he might be just a little bit off the mark. Let him attack the liberals (which he won't do). Let him attack the bureaucrats (which he won't do). Let him attack the judges (which he won't do). But the American people, generally, are the people who make the country work. It's sort of way off to start criticizing the American people in general. Look, I will admit I'm confused. If he can't give a speech where we can understand what he's saying, then it isn't a very good speech.

I know that emotion. I voted against George Bush.

Conservatives are stuck with a weak candidate and there's nothing to do but pound the table.

We'll Know... When They Know

2008-04-02T14:20:00.000-07:00

I'm not in any hurry to see the primary run end.

It's been useful for a lot of reasons. We've already had a good look at who the candidates are and the Democrats have the best chance in years to pick a winner.

I'll bet you that Obama raised 10 million dollars more than Clinton in March.

The 20 point polling gap that showed Clinton thumping Obama in PA is closing fast. I read minutes ago that she is still leading. The story is that Obama is still gaining.

That 10 point shift leaves a lot less daylight to run for in terms of delegates, in terms of fundraising and in terms popular vote margins. She currently leads in none of those categories and the polling says she's loosing momentum.

I'll bet the news that the Texas delegates are all counted and Obama got more didn't help.

I'll bet her campaign already knows what will happen.

The superdelegates won't have to make their pick if the polls keep moving at the same speed. It'll be a statistical tie by race day (you should excuse all that implies) and that won't get it done for her by any measure.

The money will dry up.

The calls to drop out will get louder

And a North Carolina stomping will end it.

If you think this has been ugly...you ain't seen nothing yet.

Race in the Context of America

2008-04-01T10:42:00.000-07:00

When I started to blog on the rhetoric of this campaign I had no idea who I might "meet" or find as an inspiration or reliable source.

I had no idea that Barrack Obama would be leading us into a national discussion on race. In fact, I could easily spend the next few minutes writing my conviction that Barack Obama is already leading this country and that the election is the formal means of confirming that we know who our leader is.

But rather than read my take, I invite you to read what contributor Ray McInnis has collected for your review:

Taken together, in the last few days we have witnessed an assemblage of statements about the wright affair that puts black religion into a historical context that -- for me at least -- is long overdue.

for example here is a link to a bacgrounder about wright et al in the latimes and, below that, another link from nyrb:

The Los Angeles Times does something many Obama supporters have been asking the media to do for weeks: put Rev. Wright in some context. "Examining the full content of Wright's sermons and delivery style yields a far more complex message, though one that some will still find objectionable. For more than 30 years, Wright walked churchgoers every Sunday along a winding road from rage to reconciliation, employing a style that validated both. 'He's voicing a reality that those people experience six days a week,' said the Rev. Dwight Hopkins, a professor at the University of Chicago Divinity School and a Trinity member. 'In that sense, he's saying they're not insane. That helps them to function the other six days of the week.'"

the pasted extract below, for example, comes from a piece by elizabeth drew in nyrb: http://www.nybooks.com/articles/21231

... Right on top of the Ferraro episode came—not coincidentally, some observers think—the release on television of some particularly inflammatory statements by Obama's pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright—"No, no, no. Not God bless America. God damn America." Such preaching is not uncommon in black churches and Wright's is milder than some others. That Obama attended Wright's church—the biggest and most influential black church in Chicago, a church that had done a lot of civic good—does not at all signify that he shared these particular pastoral views. Obama has had no part in the angry-black world. The controversy over Wright was not a new issue, and Obama had dropped him from giving the convocation speech at his announcement that he was running for president....

Also, folks, Drew's piece, is the best "quick and dirty" summary of the events associated recently with the jockeying between obama and hillary throughout the campaign. Drew writes as an "inside-the-beltway" washington dc resident, but at heart she's like the rest of us, passionate about getting behind obama so that we can get some real change in DC.

This week, Obama seems to have his groove back -- in everything except bowling -- and while some calcified conservatives are determined to get traction out of the wright imbroglio, American voters have concluded that Obama is not infected by his association with what is considered wright's inflammatory rhetoric

funny how -- in life -- events taken unusual turns, often emerging in the opposite direction that was intended.

after typing out the sentence above i began searching for historical parallels,to prove my point, but one doesn't readily come to mind. examples are out there, though

however, check this out:

in the 1940s, when governor of CA, earl warren, approved the enforcement of executive order 9066, in 1942 -- the order that interned the japanese on the west coast, because it was feared that they would assist the japanese war effort against the US -- it was held that he was merely behaving like a conservative.

later, after eisenhower appointed warren chief justice, warren made it his historical destiny to have the supreme court approve "brown vs board of education" in 1954, which out-lawed segregation in schools.

consider the spectacle of, over a short decade, 1942 to 1952, someone going from predictable conservative to "over-active liberal", and thus become detested by conservatives

(historically, it is well-known that eisenhower made a deal with warren, who was himself consider a run for president: "if you don't run, I'll appoint you to the first vacant seat on the supreme court", eisenhower told warren. later, though eisenhower lamented about the appointment: "worst damn mistake i ever made in my life!".)

its is one of my unfilled intentions to check out a warren bio and find out more about this conservative's change of heart, but so far never have

When They Give Up, We'll Stand In

2008-03-31T18:24:00.001-07:00

Interesting news from Iraq...

Excerpted from this story in the Christian Science Monitor.

In August 2004, US and Iraqi forces battled Sadr's militias in Najaf, Iraq. It was billed as a crucial test of then-Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's ability to extend authority over a key city in Iraq that was controlled by armed militias. The Najaf showdown ended in much the same way this one did: a Sadr negotiated truce.

But this time, analysts say, the widespread instances of surrender among the Iraqi forces and the seizure of their equipment and vehicles by the Mahdi Army shows that despite all the funding and training from the US, Iraq's soldiers remain greatly swayed by their sectarian and party loyalties and are incapable of standing up in a fight without US backing...

...Militiamen also paraded in newly issued Humvees, which were taken from the Army in several neighborhoods, according to witnesses.

There ya go. A surge that works for BOTH sides! The Diem government of South Viet Nam couldn't have handled it any better.

I wonder how tempting it is for John McCain to think that he's the guy who can re-fight his war and FINALLY get it right. That's a pretty sad thought really. This is a man who's defining moment in life involves bailing out during a combat mission to face injury, capture, and torture. Don't tell me he doesn't still wake up screaming. I still freakin' dream I'm a DJ.

How tempting will it be for Senator McCain to use our army in Iraq to exorcise his personal demons? How tempting will it be for him to believe that he can finally redeem what was lost at such a painful price?

GOOGLE THIS!

I use Google Analytics to monitor traffic on this blog. It's free and it easy to use. Thanks again to those 1000 or so who have visited in the last few weeks, especially including our friends in the UK, Canada, the EU and Australia/NZ for stopping in. You're welcome to comment on the election and add your prospective.

Contributor Ray McInnis Adds:

YouTube reveals video analytics tool for all users
News release: "...we're releasing YouTube Insight, a free tool that enables anyone with a YouTube account to view detailed statistics about the videos that they upload to the site. (You can see this...announcement on the Google blog and on the YouTube blog...) This tool will help anyone who uploads videos to YouTube better understand and serve their audiences. For example, users might use Insight to tailor upload strategies to increase their videos' view counts and improve their popularity on the site. And partners who increase their videos' popularity also increase the number of monetizable views their videos get, and as a result, generate more revenue."
Topic(s): E-Commerce, Blogs, Search Engines

Today's blogging included a post on my other blog site:

Dunn Creek Organic Farm PEI, Canada

Stop in for a look.

Super Sunday Blog Post

2008-03-29T21:23:00.000-07:00

There's a lot here for Sunday reading, so grab a cup of whatever soothes your mind and spend a few minutes here in review.

This post contains links from contributor Ray McInnis, a few words about the Egg McMuffin and a Sunday funny from Bob Henderson.

Also an essay from yours truly plus a note from Paul McGowan at PS Audio and a listen to the first sound recording, made in 1860!

So lets dig in!

* * * *

First - The Election

This is what awaits Barack Obama.
I don't know where this comes from but be sure to guess that this kind of stuff will find its way to the MSM if Obama gets the nod.

Nativists whose mono-brow, mono-cultutural, anti-immigrant hairs are already raised are going to pounce on this stuff. Gee, I remember when it was only Mexicans and people from Eastern Europe who got this kind of treatment in America.

* * * *

Reuters Fudging -

The Original Headline on this link from Reuters:

"Obama:Clinton Welcome to stay in race"

is now, "Clinton says no intention of dropping out:report"

Who requested THAT distinction?

* * * *

REV WRIGHT AND WRONG

Here is a link to an easily found video clip from two pastors who spoke on camera after 911 to tell us that God was giving us exactly what we deserved. I don't claim divine insight so I'll have to guess that Jerry Falwell got the same message from God that Jeremiah Wright got.

* * * *

Why didn't Obama leave his church?

This isn't a question. It's an attack on the ambivalent American. Obama didn't leave. I didn't leave. You didn't leave. We have evidence from left and right, black and white that America is not God's little innocent in the world. So why do we stay true to a country so full of sin as to be Righteously punished by God? Why do we not flee our country even when our President demands we fight a war on questionable terms?

I know what preaching in America is about. I am descended from generations of Protestant ministers. It was our family business from the early 1800's until the 1970's when my grandfather passed away.

In the 1930's, my Grandfather was Pastor to Pennsylvania coal miners and unemployed factory workers in tiny towns throughout the Southeastern corner of the state. The Reverend Chester Warren Quimby was sent to minister to men and women and children left destitute by the Great Depression. His own family depended on the value of his service to the people. And he was often called at late hours to serve. He met the untimely death of a wife, the tragic loss of a father, a family disrupted by drunken violence, or the parents who felt they could not go on raising children in poverty.

He was man who was asked over and over again, "Why?".

I knew the Reverend Dr. Quimby and I know the strength that came from his faith.
He may not have "Damned" America but he knew America's shortcomings and he knew the suffering of his people. He knew that his own life depended on offering faith and hope and healing to his people and he labored for years to bring the people to his church for the mercy he believed was theirs.

When your life depends on filling the church in your charge, you must preach to the people in ways that will bring them to God. If you are the pastor of a Church in a Chicago ghetto, how will you preach to them?

Reverend Jeremiah Wright wasn't trying to save me. He wasn't trying to show me the way to Christ from my million dollar home or to bring me to salvation from the senseless poverty of wealth. He wasn't trying to build his church in the comfortable American suburb I inhabit.

Jeremiah Wright was like my Grandfather. He gave himself to a barren land in our country. He reached out for the lost, the poor, the dis-oriented, the cast off, the denied, the weak, the hopeless and those struggling to save their families from economic destruction. He spoke to them and they came to worship.

More in a link From Contributor Ray McInnis

And more from Ray with comments from a supportiveCondi Rice - deflected by a blogger from the right.

Ray Adds:

for me, anyone can rattle on like this, endlessly, i suppose, but still miss one point: that for rice to talk about race is the same as nixon going to china, and validating it as a nation worthy of america having relations with, or -- and this is of lesser import -- reagan talking with gorbachev.

in effect, rice's words make the imbroglio of wright-obama of much less consequence, meaning that when whites who might be driven from voting for obama over the wright issue, could reconsider, because a black america, conservative, is making it sound more legit.

OK, wading through these waters is tricky, but after teaching american cultural studies course for several years, discovered that it is part of the solution.

ideally, if you want people to change from thinking that blacks are not the victims they claim to be to thoughts more sympathetic to the idea that they do in fact suffer as "victims", here's how it works -- and it has to be through the heart, one person at a time -- you do it by having that person actually conduct his/her own research on a topic in cultural studies -- like the origin of the "one drop" rule -- filtering these things through their minds, and -- voila! -- the change in heart occurs, because they finally understand what oppression means.

ledeen may be correct about the change that has occurred already, but it is going to take a few more generations to give us the social conditions that level the playing field to the point wheree conservatives claim it is now.

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EGGMC1

Herb Peterson died this week. Herb took credit for the invention of the Egg McMuffin at his McDonald's Restaurant on upper State Street in Santa Barbara, Ca.

While I have no doubt that Mr. Peterson conceived and introduced said McMuffin to his friend and mentor Ray Kroc, I know some urban lore on the subject from having worked in that restaurant from 1976 to 1979. Store Manager, Garth Bench, once told me that it was McDonald's crew members who came in each morning to warm up the grills for the lunch time burger menu who innovated the McMuffin by cooking their own breakfast sandwiches in the McDonald's kitchen. Garth said he was one of those young workers who inspired Mr. Peterson. I was told that in 1978.

Having done much the same to create my own sandwiches at the same restaurant, I can understand how this might have been the case. We were once told in a crew meeting, "You guys should put as much care into the burgers you serve the customers as the stuff I see you creating for yourselves on break!"

McDonald's President, Ray Kroc, had a ranch just north of us in the Santa Ynez Valley. He actually showed up at our restaurant in his limo. And secret boxes of frozen test items were sometimes stored in our freezer. That and a whole lot of after hours nonsense, plus a late night visit from Fleetwood Mac made working for McDonald's pretty interesting in our little town.

I enjoyed knowing and working for Mr. Peterson at McDonald's. And I will forever be grateful for the training I received as a young employee at the Golden Arches.

And as a final note, Mr. Peterson was a guest in my studio several years ago as we created some local radio commercials for his local McDonald's restaurants. What a pleasure to welcome this man into my own small business. I credit him to starting me on my my way to success

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Paul McGowan at PS Audio sent me some news this week. Paul was an entrepreneur/amateur engineer at 99.1 KXFM in Santa Maria, Ca. a few years before I became a DJ there in 1981. I still have one of the first hand built PS Audio phono pre-amps that was installed at the radio station.

He sends story about the recent recovery of the first recorded audio from 1860!

Much of this month's newsletter will focus on the state of digital media in our high end systems. It seems appropriate, therefore, that we start this newsletter off with news of the discovery of the world's first optical recording (like a CD) that predates Edison's first recording by nearly 20 years!

This is the link to a New York Times article about the Phonautogram, an optical voice recorder invented in 1853 (17 years before Edisons patent of the phonograph) by douard-Lon Scott de Martinville of Paris.

Edison's system was entirely mechanical and used a stylus (needle) that was moved by the power of your voice, to cut a pattern into a wax cylinder. In our free DVD From Coal to Coltrane we show a later version of Edison's machine and describe how it works.

Martinville's Phonautogram worked in a very similar fashion, only instead of cutting a pattern into a wax cylinder the French inventor used the moving stylus to write on a piece of paper. He had no clue how this would be played back but he wanted to design a piece of equipment that could capture and archive the human voice and he succeeded!

The article has a link so you can hear the reproduction of his first work, now decoded after sitting in storage for 155 years. Amazing.

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Contributor Bob Henderson sends us Today's Funny:

Senator Obama Speaks on the Economy

2008-03-27T23:02:00.001-07:00

The Senator at Cooper Union once again takes us from the past to the future.

"But you say you are conservative - eminently conservative - while we are revolutionary, destructive, or something of the sort. What is conservatism? Is it not adherence to the old and tried, against the new and untried? We stick to, contend for, the identical old policy on the point in controversy which was adopted by "our fathers who framed the Government under which we live;" while you with one accord reject, and scout, and spit upon that old policy, and insist upon substituting something new. True, you disagree among yourselves as to what that substitute shall be. You are divided on new propositions and plans, but you are unanimous in rejecting and denouncing the old policy of the fathers."

- Abraham Lincoln, Cooper Union Address, Feb. 27, 1860