I did something this year that I did four years ago with great success: I did not watch either the Democrat or Republican Conventions on TV. Instead, I relied on independent observers’ accounts: blogs, newspapers, websites, and my favorite, word-of-mouth. Having attended both parties’ conventions in 1992, I have experienced the phony, Hollywood-style atmosphere first-hand. But this year, I think the creepiness has totally permeated the events to the point where they are utterly unpalatable even from a cumulative distance of several thousand miles.
Having not seen the GOP picnic, I’ll let someone else sum it up in the way that most corresponds to my observations, Tom Shales, media critic of the Washington Post. Bottom line: George Bush was in charge but someone else sneaked into Washington back in 2001 and f**ked everything up. The Republicans certainly had nothing to do with any of it. And guess who’s the right party to fix everything that got mysteriously screwed up over the past seven years? That’s right- the people who screwed everything up over the past seven years.
Apparently, the Republican Party thinks the American people are grotesquely stupid and suffering from severe memory loss. Reading some of the remarks of people attending the shindig, maybe they’re right.
Talk is supposedly cheap but the nonsense and lies oozing from the Republican Convention are costly. Here’s the party that foolishly spent us into recession, blamed the American people and their impotent political opposition for their arrogance, incompetence and deception, now telling us all the great things they’re going to do for us THIS TIME. In other words, they want us to re-elect them to correct all the things they screwed up.
Here’s the adage that really applies here: FOOL US ONCE, SHAME ON YOU. FOOL US TWICE, SHAME ON US.
And the phrase that should apply comes from The Who: WE WON’T GET FOOLED AGAIN.
The Republican convention continues to degenerate into a farce, fraud and classic example of why these people shouldn’t be allowed to destroy our country anymore. Arresting a reporter- the highest-profile left-wing reporter in the world- doesn’t do anything to gain voters and it certainly doesn’t project the image of a party or ideology that is either inclusive or unifying. Not that the GOP had anything to do with her arrest directly. But they helped created the climate both in Minneapolis and America that led to the type of Beijing-style throttling the Republicans exercised at their past convention in New York and in their enforcement of the Patriot Act.
Sadly, it’s typical. Forget about “Trailer Park Pinup” Sarah Palin. Her and McCain’s hypocrisy on and abuse of federal earmarks- a far bigger issue than her pregnant teenager- is a way of life in our two-party system regardless of whose side you’re on. If there was any reason left to vote for McCain or any Republican, it was that they sort-of represented hope of restored freedom that was ravaged by the Bush-Cheney Regime. But as with everything Bush and Republican, it’s all talk. And it’s becoming clearer every minute that McCain=Bush. Maybe not by design but more because that’s just the way Republicans roll.
As for Obama, he’s probably just sitting watching, enjoying the whole debacle. The needless arrest of Amy Goodman, McCain’s unraveling credibility and his unflagging Mr. Nice Guy campaign make him look better every day. And that’s a lot for me to say. Thanks, Amy for going above and beyond a journalist’s duty. You may just have put us over the top.
Thanks to the incompetence, arrogance and lack of caring by the Bush Regime and then Republican-led Congress, Gustav rides into New Orleans looking more like John Wayne then the black-hatted villain. I’m sure the Republicans don’t feel that way. They thought all along THEY were the good guys. Now that Bush, Cheney and other top right-wing knuckleheads have conceded defeat at the hands of Nature, perhaps the inappropriately, self-titled “conservative” element of American society understands better that the environment is an ISSUE and not just something they can kiss off, hand over to the oil, mining and real estate industries and expect everything to turn out okey-dokey.
But given their track record and moral learning curve involved, my guess is they understand- not. Don’t let W’s standby mode in Texas fool you. This is about APPEARANCES NOT ACTUAL ACTION. WAY-HAYYYYYY TO LATE (apologies to Dr. Perry Cox), Bush doesn’t want to appear again like an incompetent, arrogant loser and Cheney- well, Cheney DOESN’T WANT TO APPEAR AT ALL. BTW: anyone see Cheney lately?
The good news is that even if Gustav isn’t as destructive as feared, he’s still done his job on America’s Radical Right. Bush and his ilk may not “get it”- but they’re getting it anyway.
Even the mainstream media are reporting and lamenting what appears to be the senseless but calculated demise of federal support for renewable energy. The renewable industry admits the final attack on American independence launched by the Bush White House with Cheney’s Big Oil task force behind them is going to be Katrina-esque in scope. We can only hope that President Obama and an enlightened Congress can resurrect renewable energy tax credits before Bush and Company destroy more jobs, environment and hopes that the United States can ever be anything more than a fading empire again.
It’s tragically but tantalizingly ironic that the once-mighty Republican Party is cowering in the shadows of an approaching storm, not terrorists, oil companies or even the Chinese. Bush and Cheney have canceled their last chance to say something good about their horrendous nightmare of an administration. The GOPhers are talking about cutting the convention short: more worried about being seen partying during a national disaster (isn’t that what they’ve been doing the last seven years?) than actually doing anything to help.
What the Republicans fear most is America watching John McCain give his acceptance speech in split screen with live video of bodies floating in the streets of New Orleans. Especially after Obama’s triumphant Denver address that was more like the Jacksons’ Victory tour. But that’s the Republicans’ karma. They created the PR nightmare that is approaching our southern coast, not Nature. And hopefully, many of them are thinking what Robert Preston’s character Big Ed Bookman, faced with divine retribution for his corruption, confessed so eloquently in “Semi-Tough”: “Lord, I’m a sinner and now you’re gonna f**k me.”
Keeping up appearances is a 24/7 gig when all you’ve got is the APPEARANCE OF CARING OR ACCOMPLISHMENT, not any kind of record of it. But after seven years of monumental gaffes and dismal failures- 9/11, Iraq, energy prices, the federal deficit, Social Security, the housing crisis, one ill-fated debacle after another- it is Hurricane Gustav and Nature that frighten our pillars of strength and integrity more than Osama bin Laden, Barack Obama, protesters- even Janet Jackson. You think the GOP considered curtailing its little bash in the face of threats of violence, $4/gallon gasoline, and crippling recession?
Bush, Cheney and the Republicans have led an all-out assault on Nature during their reign of error. Now, their endless, senseless campaigns of destruction make any hurricane, wildfire, even a bear attack or other act of Nature seem like justifiable revenge against an evil overlord. I feel for the people of New Orleans and hope Gustav and his younger sister Hanna who’s yet to come are not as bad as everyone fears. But I also hope that Bush and his partying party finally get the message:
YOU MESS WITH NATURE- NATURE MESSES WITH YOU. Party on, fellas. Don’t bother cleaning up when you leave. We’ll pick up. Just go.
I was in O’Hare Airport waiting for a flight to Grand Rapids, Michigan when Barack Obama was scheduled to speak to the Democratic Convention in Denver. He was the drawing card for the whole thing. Not that Hillary and Bill, Gore, Michelle and the gang were not interesting but, let’s face it, they’re not THE MAN. I didn’t watch it anyway because I was in the air but I heard it was good.
On the other hand, the only reason to watch the Republican convention is gone. Bush and Cheney have bowed out citing Hurricane Gustav. I understand why Bush wouldn’t show. First, he’s got nothing good to say about the last seven, awful years. Second, he’s a terrible speaker but therefore extremely entertainging. Third, he screwed up so badly by ignoring Hurricane Katrina for political appearances that even he won’t make that mistake again.
I really was looking forward to watching W’s swan song. What was he going to talk about? How could he possibly inspire his fellow right-wingers with that record of failure? Yeah, I guess I can see it his way. But I don’t know why Cheney should not appear. Isn’t that his job- to handle stuff the president can’t? Oh yeah, I forgot. Cheney’s not like a normal vice-president. He not only does what he wants but he doesn’t have to do what his boss tells him.
I can relate to Cheney though. I haven’t done anything that Bush has told me to do either. As for other possible, alternative attractions at the GOP gathering, instead of John McCain and his new running mate- you know, the beauty pageant winner, ex-sportscaster and outdoors store owner (White House qualifications for sure)- I suggest goat sacrifices, free beer, and a special appearance of Ronald Reagan in casket.
I worked as a freelance live shot coordinator for NBC during the 1992 political conventions in New York (Democrats) and Houston (Republicans). FYI: Clinton beat Bush the Elder- the last of the good times. The Democrats’ and Republicans’ presidential nominating conventions used to be important gatherings instead of meaningless pseudo-events where the leader the Free World was chosen by arm-wrestling, jawboning and good, old-fashioned intimidation and power. Issues, not images, were paramount. Now, they are made-for-TV events just like the Olympics and American Idol: the lead actor already chosen and the convention merely his acceptance speech. The conventions aren’t even as meaningful or exciting as the Oscars. At least with the Oscars, you don’t know who’s going to win or what they’re going to say.
I remember seeing Arnold Schwarzenegger sitting with the royal Bush family (W right there as well) at the Astrodome being chummy and all GOP-like. Years later when Ahnuld ran for governernator of California, W withheld support of him and actually stated that he didn’t know much about him. Odd, because they seemed pretty friendly that night. W was probably stoned, drunk or both and doesn’t recall.
At Madison Square Garden, Al Gore delivered his famous “It’s time for them to go” speech and Comedy Central made their auspicious first appearance “covering” the show- which is all it was. MTV’s Tabitha Soren (remember her?) marked the beginning and end of her dubious media career. It also developed into my first documentary since college. I shot it on Hi8 tape on a Sony pro-sumer camera which was the exciting, new small format in 1992 and the precursor to the digital revolution then just on the horizon. It was after the conventions that I knew I would never stay in corporate TV. I left the news biz a month later, returned in 1994, and retired from it in 2003.
The technology has changed a lot since 1992. But two things haven’t: 1) the conventions are pointless and 2) they’re not good TV anymore, just a sad cliche from a bygone era (balloons, signs, funny hats, etc.). For that matter, check the blogs. They’re even boring on the Internet.
NBC and other network TV big shots are all goose-pimply about the success of their hijacking the Internet for a month to redundantly televise the Olympics even though they already had their own cable and broadcast channels. They had no compunctions about seizing as much bandwidth as they wanted to show little girls in cute Spandex suits prancing about. But when it comes to sharing the PUBLIC’S AIRWAVES with the millions of business people and regular citizens who need and use the Internet, NO WAY!
Don’t expect the Bush Regime to come to the aid of regular American citizens. The FCC under Kevin Martin has produced ignorant and unconstitutional rulings like the Super Bowl breast-flashing fiasco (overturned) and attempts to allow even more wealthy conglomerates to buy broadcast stations, preventing minorities and local groups from owning their own local media.
The Olympics’ popularity will only accelerate Big Media’s migration to the Internet causing increased slowdowns and bandwidth hogging already slowing upload and download speeds and forcing gatekeepers like Comcast to allocate bandwidth and regulate selected users. Those of us who do business on the Web need to protect ourselves now before Big Media takes over yet again with the blessing of a complicit federal authority.
$24 million. Not a bad investment in the security, independence and economic stability of our country as recently announced the Regime. But their “efforts” to help implement solar energy on a mass scale pales before similar programs in Germany, China, India and virtually every country on the planet. We can only hope that the next administration recognizes the urgent need to develop renewable energy- not give away more public land for fruitless drilling and digging by obscenely wealthy oil and coal companies who THEMSELVES admit the days of fossil fuels are numbered.
