LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT...

THE MEDIA IS RACIST FOR REPORTING WHAT REV. WRIGHT SAID, WAS WRONG?

"The ugliness we watched on television as media manipulators tried to scare us from voting for an African American candidate by presenting a deliberately frightening caricature of his African American pastor reminded us of how ugly the conversation on race can be."

Those words are part of a sermon, given yesterday by the head shaman of the 1.2 million strong United Church of Christ, John Thomas, before the 320 members of the Danville (CA) Congregational Church.

Look, I understand that his intentions are good, racism is the 800# gorilla in the room, but it wasn't the media who created the furor. It was Wright himself whose vitrolic foaming alienated people. Obama has a better than even chance of winning the Presidency this year. But only if his "friends" don't fuck it up for him.

Wright started it, Clinton fanned the flames in a counter-reaction and Obama is stuck between a rock and a hard spot. I said it before, this race is going to come down to just that one issue, RACE. Not in the issues debated by the candidates but in the sub-human perceptions of the electorate. If you thought the last decade's "in your face" fight between liberals and conservatives was dirty, then your might want to go fetch your hip-boots. You ain't seen nothing yet.

***

Osama bin Laden sure has become pontific. Two audio messages in 3 days! Or maybe this is just his way of telling Dubya that he is still out there. And reminding the rest of us just how inefficient "fearless leader" is in his supposed efforts to capture him. Or, possibly, this is an evil plot by Cheney to destroy Bush, for all the problems he caused the neo-con side of the (soon to be "late") GOP.

***

Global warming is the cause of the increase in the number and intensity of hurricanes/typhoons/cyclones, right? Or, is it just part a multi-decade cycle that happens naturally? A new study says the later choice might just be the correct answer. It also says that global warming might actually reduce the number/intensity of these storms. I just say that I wonder how much it cost big business to buy this guy off.

***

In the US we have three periods of the year where TV viewership is measured. November, February and May. The result of these sweeps are how the networks base the ad rates for the following few months. In February people stayed away from major television networks in droves. Seeking entertainmaent from the higher numbered cable channels. This was considered a reaction to the "reality" programming the majors purveyed during the WGA strike. Well, the May sweeps are now over and guess what. The networks still saw a major loss in share. Cable channels, the net, game consoles and internet-tv have all made healthy gains. Except for the occassional PBS show, I usually spend my TV time on the History Channel, NatGeo, Discovery and SciFi. All niche market programming. Judy likes the channel that deals with cooking and my landlord downloads movies from NetFlix. Another friend loves watching the films on American Movie Classics and Turner Classic Movies. And then there are the premium and pay-per-view channels, which have demonstrated that people will watch quality programming if it is presented. The day of major network domination may be coming to its end.

***

This is just (NOT!) the type of story I need as I prepare to leave the island.

***

Thats it for the moment. I'll be back later with more. Have a great day and thanks much for dropping in.

Mahalo

Aloha

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THE PICTURE GALLERY

Over The Limit?
UNDER ARREST!
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"Let's all be careful out there!"