Hail Caesar 44

On Sunday the NY Times wondered if we were quagmired in Afghanistan . Gee, ya think? The last time Afghanistan was invaded by a foreign power, the Soviet Union, the war lasted ten years. It was during this time that the ever helpful CIA financed and trained Osama Bin Laden to counter Soviet aggression. Ha ha.
If the Soviets couldn't subdue the country in ten years, what makes the rocket scientists at the Pentagon think they can do better? They have forgotten Viet Nam already? No lessons learned from history? You can invade a country, even take it over, but you cannot win in the long run.
If Canada and Mexico joined forces and took over America would we aqueous, or would we wage guerrilla war forever?
In Afghanistan you can occupy the city's, but the country side is another story. The mountains, caves, and rugged terrain make it easy for rebels to fight and hide. And Opium, a crop grown there for thousands of years, will always provide financing. But if you read between the lines of the Times story you hear the stirrings of a new plan of action. Here is Colin Powell "Afghanistan, on the other hand, is still basically a tribal society, a lot of corruption; drugs are going to destroy that country if something isn't done about it."
For an influential black man to worry that drugs are going to destroy another country is precious, isn't it? But catch the undertone there that something needs to be done.
And in the same article Madame Hillary says, Afghanistan is a "narco-state". That's also fresh, but again, the beating of the drums has begun.
And if the 'surge' worked so well in Iraq, then 30,000, 60,000, or maybe 100,000 more American boys and girls will surly do the trick in Afghanistan. Here we go again, get Lyndon Johnson and Dick Nixon on the phone.
For the war boys, pulling troops out of Iraq isn't so hard to bare, because they get to move them some where else on the game board.
And because of the rescission, military enlistment is way up. A silver lining if there ever was one.
We like to think that the President of the United States calls the shots but it's not really true. If it were true why would a smart, nice man like Obama, let a vampire like Bob Gates stay in charge of the war department? If the President truly cared about humanity why would he allow America to bankrupt itself playing Empire?
We want to think we are a Christian nation, but we are the modern Roman Empire. It must make god sick to his stomach to hear W say he is a Christian. He was a Caesar, and Caesar's don't turn the other cheek. And I have news for ya-all, Obama is Caesar the 44th.

Clinton's Pay After Play Foundation

Last Sundays NY Times dug up some dirt on the 'pay to play' Clinton Foundation. It used to be that just the super wealthy had foundations, the Rockefeller's, Carnegie's and Ford's. Foundations aren't just a clever tax dodge, they also provide the family's that control them tremendous leverage. When your handing out millions of dollars, people do what you ask them to. Having a large endowment doesn't just make you a nice guy, it gives you tremendous power. Having tremendous power increases your money making potential, and so it goes. It didn't take long for a couple of Times reporters to piece together a small deal that smells suspicious. But rest assured that nothing will come of this. Bill is a major player and the people who own America are very happy with him. As long as they are super discreet, what he and Hillary do to shake the money tree is of no concern. The Governor Of Illinois, on the other hand, is just a punk, so screw him.

Crimes Against Humanity

The pictures from Gaza of dead children, their little hands on their chests, their eyes closed, are absolutely unbearable. I can't imagine what it must be like to have your precious baby's taken in such a manner, can you? I can however, understand the anger that some feel towards Israel right now. Certainly Israel was provoked, but what they are doing is like using a sledgehammer to kill a gnat. In the time that Hamas has been lobing rockets into Israel, three Israelis have died, three. Apparently Hamas is using the population of Gaza as a shield, taking shelter in mosques and under hospitals. And in my book that makes them terrorists, and they deserve to be rounded up and executed. But Israel is simply playing into their hands. Not only is the invasion a PR disaster, but it probably won't get rid of Hamas anyway.
We all know that Israel has a siege mentality, and has vowed to be vigilant against another Holocaust. But when they kill innocent civilians on such a scale, for no really good reason, than they are terrorists themselves. And when we here in America sit by and let them, then we are also guilty of crimes against humanity.

Once Upon A Time In America

Once Christmas is over there is a quick bit we call New Years Eve, and then dead winter for three dreary months. Except this year the nation anxiously awaits a new President and first family. This is a transition that more people want to happen than probably any time since Roosevelt said goodbye to Hoover. The country is tired of W, his misadventures, his wars, and his economic catastrophe. Except this economic cataclysm belongs as much to President Clinton as to Bush. And why not, the same bankers advised both administrations, and are Obama's wise men as well.
The new Gallop Poll shows Obama wildly admired by the public. But so what, W was once widely admired by a gullible public. For that matter, Henry Kissinger, the un-indicted war criminal, topped the list three years in a row. But much like Charlie Brown, who always has the ball pulled away before he can kick it, Americans are fooled again and again. And why shouldn't they be? Americans believe that they live in a working Democracy, that their elected leaders are empowered to find solutions to their problems. It would be to much of a shock for the celebrity watching, fantasy loving, gasoline addicted public to focus on whats really happened to their country. That a cabal of oil rich war profiteers are in charge. Half the population won't even admit we are an Empire, despite the overwhelming evidence. Do Americans really believe that our bloated, obscene military spending is endured for the defense of the homeland? Or that we shoulder the cost because Europe lacks the will to police the world? What Europe lacks is the desire to bankrupt itself, the way the former Soviet Union did. And please, don't even attempt to argue that our super power fleet is needed to stop hijackers and terrorists.The men in charge know that tanks and fleets are useless in this brave new world order.That's why they are developing new and un-American tactics like waterboarding and detention w/out legal rights. And just as we watch the West Wing on TV and think that's reality, we believe that waterboarding and detention w/out rights could never happen to us here in the land of the free.
George Washington famously warned the young republic to stay disentangled from Europe's wars. He could never have imagined the 21st century, where Europe remains, (to a degree) disentangled from Americas militaristic adventure's worldwide.

Pay To Play

I'm a bit embarrassed about my Chicago Scandal post. If Jessie Jackson Jr. broke the law, he should suffer the consequences. Part of the current problem with our dysfunctional Democracy is that all the scoundrels go unpunished. At the very least, a strong case could be made that W lied us into the Iraq war. And Dick Cheney is so tainted with the stink of Halliburton, it would make Pepe Le Pew blush. But of coarse the 'loyal opposition' isn't about to start throwing stones at it's mirror image. And likewise nothing at all will be made of the fact that President Bill's charitable foundation reeks of pay to play, or pay after play. What the Governor of Chicago got caught at is simply business as usual.

Princess Caroline

Americans don't pay much attention to politics. If they weren't so clueless they would rise up in utter outrage and vote their corporate representatives out of office. But because everyone knows that nothing is going to change, no matter who they vote for, they stay in denial and focus there attention on sports or pop culture. That's why we vote for celebrities like Obama instead of policy wonks like Ralph Nader. It amazes me how much we've reverted back to a noble elite. So that the rulers son, wife, brother, whatever, becomes elevated to public stature. There's the Bush's, the Clinton's, The Rockefeller's, and of coarse America's favorite family, the Kennedy's. And who better suited to be New York's next superstar Senator than Caroline Kennedy? It's the perfect fit, the out-going Senator is a women, but unlike Senator Clinton, Ms Kennedy is a life long New Yorker. Certainly much will be made of the fact that she will be walking in the foot step's of her uncle, Robert Kennedy. This is American mythology at it's best. John and Bobby are almost god's in the American subconscious. In England where they still have real royalty, Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles and his boy's, William and Harry, are the most famous people in the kingdom. It's almost scary how we mimic that. It's also interesting to note that just as Royal's in the modern age are basically figure heads, so are American politician's. Do you really believe that the boy President and his Machiavellian VP, got us into two wars on their very own? Without the consent of the people who own this country? Are you kidding me? Does this help explain why the President elect is keeping W's Secretary of Defense? Why he is surrounding himself with the same old hacks? Caroline Kennedy has said that her qualifications are among other things, that she raised a family and wrote a book on civil liberty's. I agree that raising a family is indeed a good and valuable experience. But Barack Obama was a constitutional scholar at Harvard , no less, and he still voted for the USA Patriot Act. No, Ms Kennedy's real qualification is that she is the fallen King's daughter, the Princess.

Chicago Scandal

What is it about Chicago and political scandals? Let's hope this thing doesn't touch the President elect. As it is there's a possibility that it will bring down J. Jackson Jr. and that would be to bad. All pol's are corrupt to a certain extent, aren't they? What the Illinois Governor got caught at is more than likely business as usual. I have a feeling none of them are boy scouts. Maybe Senator Bernie Sanders from VT, but he's not even in one of the two corporate parties. It can't be anything but good for the Black youth of America to have a man in the US Senate that they can aspire to. I can't imagine that this will bring him down, but one never knows.

Corporate Party Rule

Funny, I thought I voted for Barack Obama. So how did I end up with Bill Clinton? According to Ralph Nader, thirty one out of forty seven people that he has named so far for transition have ties to the Clinton Administration. So much for change. The media are falling all over themselves saying that this is a good and necessary thing. It's amazing how they scratch each others backs. And it turns out that far from raising the lions share of his campaign contributions from the little guy, the vast amount came from fat cats. Employees of Goldman Sachs gave more to Obama than workers of any other employer, imagine that. Doesn't anyone in America find it peculiar that so many ex Goldman Sachs bankers hold such exalted positions not just in America, but in the world? Josh Bolten runs the White House, Henry Paulson runs treasury, Robert Ruben, Obama's chief financial adviser, ran Clinton's Treasury. The bailout fund is being run by Neel Kashkari, and the World Bank is run by Robert Zoellick. All these men are former Sachs bankers. I am not saying that this is a conspiracy. It is however, business as usual.

Can You Spare Some Change?

After spending his time in the Senate deregulating the banking industry, Phil Gramm has become a banker. Oh what a surprise.The man who's mantra was government is not the solution should now turn down government help, should he not? But that's not going to happen because he meant government is not the solution for working Americans. If your a rich fat cat, government is very much the solution. Maybe what he really meant to say was keep the people off big business's back. Or don't let the common man get in the way of big business greed and corruption. Apparently Gramm thinks food stamps are a waste because in America "the poor are fat". He also thinks that Wall Street is Holy. Sure Phil, in money we trust. The scary thing about the financial crisis is it isn't just a product of Republicans, who are the party of the rich, after all. No the Clinton administration is as much to blame as all the followers of our great Howdy Doody President, Ronald Reagan. It was Reagan who resurrected the Republican Party with his Orwellian double speak. Greed is good, the rich pay to much tax, markets self regulate. Oh please! Reagan was the master of big brother bullshit, even naming war missiles "Peace Keepers". And Americans, dumb and naive as they are, ate it up. It was no accident that Reagan was an actor. If W's wasn't from a rich political family he would have been a game show host, or a car salesman. And what about our new President elect? He has surrounded himself with former Clinton economic advisers. Certainly his selection of Joe Biden, old dead white man, was a sign to the establishment not to worry. Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State? Even the old Republican war criminal Henry Kissinger approves. It would appear that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

President Elect Obama, Superstar

It’s hard not to be riveted to the cable TV news shows at a time like this. To see Obama in front of the American flag and realize he’s not a candidate anymore but the President elect of the United States of America is startling. When history is in the making it’s remarkable to have the TV’s unblinking eye bringing events into our homes. Hurricanes, disasters, big events, that's what the camera covers best. And the images were all so great, from The President elect and his family to Jessie Jackson crying. The cheering crowds that gathered at Grant Park in Chicago were obviously historical. There was such joy and hope in the faces, it was remarkable. I have to admit to being surprised when the next day, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice gushed like a school girl at a Beatle concert. Even the boy President looked as pleased as can be. And why not, he’s getting out of Dodge soon, and it doesn’t look like the sheriff is going to hold him accountable for anything. We still have just over two months left of the Bush/Cheney regime and it would be hard to overestimate what kind of trouble W/Dick could still get us into. As it is, he is pouring billions into his friend’s banks and none of the newly powerful Democrats seem to mind.

The images of people around the world celebrating Obama’s win was breathtaking! America doesn’t just have a new President; the world has a new hero. He is not just President elect Obama, he is Barack Obama, superstar! Andy Warhol came up with the term super-star in the sixties. It was the perfect combination of movie star and comic book super hero. It’s where JFK meets Superman, if you will. If Andy were still alive, he would no longer paint Chairman Mao, Elvis, or even Campbell’s soup cans. He would just do silk-screens of President Obama.

America and the world needs a hero and President elect Obama fits the bill, a dynamic good looking young man of supreme confidence. Why is everyone so surprised that we have elected a black man? America and in particular young America, has been in love with black Americans since at least Louis Armstrong. Blacks have been superstars of American culture for a long time now. Forty years ago another beautiful young black man was the most famous man in the world and that was Mahmud Ali. I’m happy that the world has a new hero, but I’m worried about the expectations. After all he is only one man, who will have to contend with very powerful forces, entrenched interests, and the status quo.

Lame (Bush) Duck

The fact that W is the most unpopular President since Herbert Hoover caught the blame for the great depression doesn’t seem to bother him. He is charging ahead against the tide of disapproval acting as he always has, as if he had a mandate. After eight years of tremendous tax breaks to the very wealthiest Americans, he is now overseeing the change from a free market to a Government subsidized market. It turns out that socialism is only bad when the money is spent on people.

And far from being a lame duck he is busy expanding the Bush Doctrine, chasing our enemy across the borders of Iraq and Afghanistan. The media however is too fixated on the Presidential race to even notice. Besides, changing American capitalism, and expanding our military powers are complicated stories that don’t play as well as a highly dramatic political contest.

Going Out Of Business, Everything Must Go.

Rick Wagoner, the head of GM, is worried about his legacy, so he’s asking you and I for a hand out. After all, why should just bankers have all the fun? When it comes to Government charity, isn’t an industrialist as worthy as a banker? But if W is not worried over his own legacy, then why should Wagoner? And after all, in the councils of the rich and powerful, both will no doubt still find favor. One imagines that W will spend his days with Saudi royalty in luxury. And why not, he has earned it! And even as his administration is (supposedly) winding down, the boy President is busy giving away what’s left of the American Treasury. Insurance, Banking, Industry, pull up in front and load up your armored cars with cash, the Government is having a fire sale!

I'm Mad As Hell, But I'm Still Gonna Fake It.

The fever pitch of this campaign is almost alarming. Any day now I’m expecting riots to break out between followers of the two opposing sides. And I’m just talking about MSNBC and Fox. I can’t watch Lou Dobbs anymore, I’m sure he is going to have a stroke live on the air. He has become the Peter Finch character from the movie Network. "Im mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore." He gets so worked up that he constantly interrupts his guests. What has Lou so positively frustrated is he can’t understand why no leader can fix our problems. What Lou doesn’t understand is that our leaders don’t work for us. They work for the people who own this country, the very wealthiest Americans. I’m not talking about every day, garden variety millionaires. I’m talking about families that have inherited and passed on great fortunes for the last one hundred years. “ The super rich, the less than 1 percent of the population who own the lion's share of the nation's wealth, go uncounted in most income distribution reports.” Say’s commondreams.org. For these people the nation is being run perfectly. If Lou could only understand this, he wouldn’t be so perplexed

On The Left Obama, On The Right McCain

The two party system in America is by definition partisan. This stage show of us against them has even infected the media .With Fox News on the right and MSNBC on the left. While CNN tacks a course down the middle. Is there a reporter more neutral than Anderson Copper, our new Walter Cronkite?
Every night the guest commentary comes from representatives of the two parties. The people who have run their campaigns and written their speeches are there to add the evenings spin. So we have Paul Begala spinning for the left and Ed Rollins for the right. David Gergen’s gets to play it down the middle, one presumes, after having advised both Republican and Democrat Presidents. But what is the difference between the two parties?
The Democrats have been called the left wing of the Republican Party. It’s been pointed out that Bill Clinton was not as liberal as Nelson Rockefeller. When I think of the two Parties, I prefer the good cop, bad cop analogy. After W., Clinton seems like a saint. Clinton was President just after the Soviet Union disintegrated. He could have cashed a huge peace dividend, but he didn't. He could have cut back military spending and used the money for subway trains and infrastructure. He started his term with his party in charge of the Congress, but no, he didn’t even attempt to scale back the obscene and blotted military budget. For fifty years Hawks cried that we must be tough on communism. Spend massive amounts of money to keep the Commies at check. But when the enemy is no more, imploding due to their own obese military spending, do we get to take a break? Hell no, we don’t even discuss the option. Billion dollar submarines, designed to track the Soviet Navy continued to be funded. OK, the military was weaned back some and this allowed Clinton and Reuben to balance the budget that allowed the good times that we so love Bill for.
And Clinton kept Allen Greenspan at the Federal Reserve Bank, a very Republican thing to do. This economic meltdown is a direct result of theories first put in practice by Ronald Reagan, continued by Clinton, and re accelerated by Bush/Cheney.
And notice, please, that Senator Obama’s response to the financial meltdown has been much the same as Bush’s. And why wouldn’t it be? He has much the same bankers advising him that the boy President has. That Clinton had. And they are all from Goldman Sachs, very respectable men, who worship one very respectable thing, money.
I happen to believe that Senator Obama is one of the smartest and more decent politicians to hit the American stage in some time. But never the less, that stage is owned by the very wealthiest Americans. And that means that certain things are not going to change much. The military, America’s instrument of Empire, is sacrosanct. And so Barack tells us that we must increase our military in Afghanistan. He will say that because of terrorism America must keep its empire. When the reality is that the empire is what the terrorists are fighting us about.

A Perfect Storm

It would appear that a perfect storm has ascended on the political landscape, a storm that very much favors Obama and the Democrats. The credit crisis could not have hit at a worse time for the prisoner of war, John McCain. And as if the ageing boy President wasn’t unpopular enough, this final embarrassment has got to be the last nail in his reputations coffin. But does W he even care? He probably doesn’t want McCain to win anyway. In four years maybe Jeb will be ready. And America’s financial institutions are in turmoil, but so what? We are the richest country in the world and we will survive. Not only did he give the rich a huge windfall these last eight years, he tops it all off with a 200 billion dollar giveaway. Team Bush may be handing the presidency and the Congress to the Democrats, but the country is bankrupt so who cares? The Reagan Revolution has come full circle, but Alan Greenspan is shocked and confused.

Beyond the Palin

I said the Republicans would get nasty and crazy, and that was before I knew who Sara Palin was.
Will John McCain go down in history as the man who lost the presidency and the Congress for the Republicans? Or will he be remembered more for introducing America’s newest pop-up politician, Governor Palin?
So what if she doesn’t read the New York Times and the Washington Post. She’s gone from Alaskan beauty queen to vice presidential nominee of a major political party, what have you done lately?
You might think that the folks who brought you Ronald Reagan and W. would love to get their hands on her strings, except that she’s already damaged goods. At first perceived as an inspired choice, she has become yet another albatross round the neck of the sinking prisoner of war. By the way, did anyone else think the “my fellow prisoners” slip was beyond the pall? Obviously many of his red meat fans are rabid, but is McCain himself a psycho? W. at times seemed particularly unhinged, and that didn’t keep him out of the family White House.
And as if this election weren’t exciting enough, we now find ourselves riveted to the global economic meltdown.
I find it suspicious that after eight years of refinancing the wealthiest Americans, the government is now pouring billions more into their banks and brokerage houses. Is there nothing that we won’t do for the people who own this country? And while the very wealthy retreat behind their compound gates, the Democrats are handed the Presidency and both houses of Congress. But what will they be able to accomplish with no money left?

Convention Time

So the polls have evened up and we find ourselves in a dog race. Well good, it's much more fun now. But scary! The idea of the 71 year old John McCain moving into the White house, gives me the heebie jebbies . The man doesn't even know how to get online.
Apparently the "blue collar" Democrats, men mostly, are unsure of Senator Obama, but like Hillary. The media calls them lunch bucket democrats. But Archie Bunker's is more like it. They have been known to leave the party of their fathers and vote Republican in droves. They did that for Reagan. They are like sheep, and easily led to the slaughter. Many of them just don't like blacks.
They are opinionated and prejudiced. And they, apparently, get to decide the next election.
Hillary speaks at the convention tonight, and Bill on Wednesday. Will they pull through for the party and cheer Barack to victory? Or will they pull their punches in the hopes that Hill can be the standard bearer in 2012?
Wasn't Michelle great last night?
Fun, huh?

Here We Go Again, The Bill And Hill Show

The Clinton's just can't seem to be able to face reality and realize that Bill is no longer the smartest politician in America. That distinction belongs, of coarse, to Sen Barack Obama. The new wrinkle comes as Hillary is making sounds to let supporters inter her name at the convention. Their idea is after Florida and Michigan are reinstated, they would need to take maybe a hundred votes away from Barack's supporters.
There are two theory's here. One is that they can actually take the nomination away from the young rock star. Or two, they can cause him to lose, setting up Hillary's chance in four years. Both these ideas are utterly prosperous. First of all, yes its true that Hill has some very faithfully delegates. But if delegates are going to be jumping to another candidate, it will be to Barark, not away. And as for the second scenario, the democratic party is deeply in love with its new star. Ted Kennedy, and Bill Richardson, both close friends of President Clinton did not endorse Barack to snub Bill. They enthusiastically jumped on the Barack bandwagon because they see him as the future of the party. If by some chance the Clinton's blow Sen Obamas chance at the White House their names will be mud in the party for years. There is a third strategy that strikes me as much more likely. And that is the Clinton's are playing hardball trying to get Hill on the ticket. That makes a lot more sense, doesn't it? I have been impressed with Sen Clinton this whole campaign. I actually like her. Her husband is the one that I find irritating and spoiled. Barack is never going to let that man into his circle. Could you imagine the ego clashes, not to mention the bimbo eruptions? Listen, this is all just good old fashion politics. Bill is trying he's damnedest to get Hillary in the white house, but it's ain't going to happen. And in the end the Clinton's will fall in line. There will be no convention fight over the nomination. We have all been reading about the growing importance of the Hispanic vote. Unless the Obama camp is certain it's going to get all that vote, the most likely VP pick would be Bill Richardson of New Mexico. He's not just well liked. He has a ton of experience in the White House and he is a Governor. And that would fit very well with Obama being a Senator.

The Personal Computer Is Dead

The P.C. has come and gone. That's it, it has had it's day in the sun. Sure it will be around forever, but it will no longer be the center of technology. Just as you can still buy record players, and LP's, you'll always be able to buy PC"s, but they will no longer be at the forefront of tech.
The new "must have" is going to be Internet devises, digital devises, or network appliances, if you will.
The iPod and the iPhone are good examples. The iPod is a digital devise that not only makes CD's obsolete, it makes record stores redundant as well. The iPhone is not just a phone, its an Internet devise. That's what makes it so new and exciting. It has been out just a short time and already a host of useful and interesting applications have sprung up to service it.
The fall out that the music industry has been experiencing is nothing compared to whats about to happen across several industries.
The New York Times is not going to go out of business. But it's going to go through profound changes if it is to survive. You will always be able to get your hands on a newspaper, or books. But in the future they will be scarce, and expensive. And that is a good thing. How many forests do we cut down every year just to read our horoscope and then throw the paper away? No distributors of content is immune. If books and Cd's are obsolete can DVDs be far behind?
How about TV shows? Content that can be broken down and transmitted digitally no longer needs the cable company's for distribution. Now that movies and TV shows can be stored in a hard drive on a network why do I need a programmer in Manhattan to tell me when to watch Desperate Housewives?
Ever year computer manufacturers make the PC faster stronger and with more hard drive. But do we need that? Most people don't. They surf the Internet, read the paper, and e-mail. Why do they need faster and better? And as cloud computing grows more popular and gets better, you won't need to buy proprietary software, like Photoshop. If you want to edit your photo's, log on to your network and use their software. Need to write that term paper? Go to Google Document, where you can write and store it for free.
The big guys see this coming and are positioning themselves accordingly. Apple, Google, even Microsoft are writing applications or building networks for this coming age of network computing.
As technology expands it will be interesting to see what may come to supplant the screen. Imagine holograms or some projection devise to display movies or TV shows. Then you could have a small devise, an iPod, for instance project your movie onto a vacant Surface.
Apple is the one company that has been moving in this direction. Even tho the demise of the personal computer can not be a good thing for a company that makes the Mac, it can not afford to be caught unawares. And therefor look to Apple to come up with a devise that makes use of the network and cloud computing. Actually Apple is moving in the direction of not just the appliance but of building the network as well.

First Citizen Gore

Back in the early days of our republic, the fonding fathers were more like gentleman politicians than professional ones. They thought it was unseemly to run for office and preferred to be above ambition, to be called by the people.
Left leaning Democrats complain about Sen Obama's inevitable move to the center. But former Vice President Gore doesn't have to compromise. He is not running for office and so doesn't have to cattier to corporate interests. He can call it as he sees it. He seems to relish his new found respect as a leader above the fray. Bill Clinton should have been in a similar position except he was running for office through his wife.
He has been a sore loser, grumpy and childish and has tarnished the reverence given to former Presidents.

Whomever the next president is, it's obvious that Al Gore should be the next energy Czar.
However Gore says he's not interested and can do more in the private sector. He may be right.
He is absolutely right that we need to marshal all our resources on solving global warming.
The other major change America needs to make is to stand down as the worlds superpower.
The money we spend on the military would go a long way to solving problems here at home. But that is something that no politician is willing to take on. That's how you get yourself killed, just ask JFK.

Todays Paper

On the front page of today's NY Times the boy president looks like he is waiting to hold hands with the other boy's.
The juicy story today however is " Obama Donors Aren’t Rushing to Aid Clinton". The article explains that the Clinton's are $21 million in debt and anxious to have Obama help retire the debt. The problem is that about half of that money is owed to Mark Penn for his work dishing Sen Obama.
Here's a typical donors response “Why would I help pay off debts that Hillary amassed simply to keep damaging Senator Obama?”
Apparently the Clinton's support of Obama hinges on getting the Senators help in erasing their debt. Oh really? The article goes on to say, "Clinton donors say it is an open question whether the Clinton's believe they should play hardball — signaling that they will not rally enthusiastically behind Mr. Obama unless he does more on the debt situation — or appear agreeable with the expectation that the money will ultimately come through".
I guess nobody has called Bill to inform him he is no longer the head of the Democratic party.
He is thinking of playing hardball? With the next President of the United States? If their not careful, they could find themselves in the position they put Jimmy Carter in, unwanted. But what goes around comes around, I guess.
Hardball or softball? How about Fuzzball? The idea is if Hill can't be President and Bill can't sleep in the White House again than they are going to commit political suicide? Bill you can't tell me you don't want to sit on the Supreme Court. That would boost your Arkansas low self esteem wouldn't it? Maybe it's time for the 42nd president to grow up. Besides Barack and Michelle have written you checks for the $2,300 maximum. Come on Bill, time to move on.
Another story highlights McCain's newest ad.
It basically says while the Hippies were celebrating the "Summer Of Love" McCain was doing his patriotic duty in Vietnam. Hello, earth to Sen. McCain, the vast majority of voters today were draft dodging hippies back then! Little John, your not trying to lose, are you?

Hope Springs Audaciously

Today's NY Times has an opinion piece by Thomas Schaller about The hopelessness of Senator Barack winning in the south. He says " Even if unprecedented numbers of black voters turn out to vote for him, the white vote will serve as a formidable counterbalance. Mr. Obama should not hope to capture states in the country’s most racially polarized region". Barack should not hope? I guess he doesn't know that Obama's biography was called The Audacity of Hope. Schaller states that even if 95 percent of the blacks vote for the Senator he will need to capture more whites than Kerry did.
95 percent? First of, it's going to be more like 99, or even 100 percent. Even Colin Powell is going to come out for him.
And second Sen Barack is going to win much more of the white vote than John Kerry. Was Kerry perceived as a rock star the way Obama is? No!
Did Kerry raise more money than any candidate in the history of America? No! Did Kerry bring in more young people to register for the first time? You get my point. Recent poll's show McCain and Obama neck in neck. I just don't see it. In CA Sen B. is 18 points ahead of the little POW. That, I think, is a correct poll. And a true predictor of what is to come in the fall.
Obama is making inroads everywhere. He is going to capture a significant portion of the Evangelicals. The first time a Democrat has done that since Jimmy Carter.

The reason Evangelicals and former Republican Secretary of State are deserting the party is over their shock and horror at what the boy President and his devious VP have done to America, and it's reputation in the world.
In the nineteen sixties Lyndon Johnson pushed civil rights down the throat of the south. Afterword Johnson said, "well we've just lost the south for a long time to come". That's not a direct quote, it's from memory. And of coarse, he was right. Ever since, for the Dem's to win, they have had to run a Southerner.
However now there is a new alignment coming. The Republicans are losing people by the droves.
The Spanish population for one, who once flirted with Spanish speaking Republicans like FL Governor Jeb Bush are horrified at the fence around America that politicians are promising to build. They are going to vote for Barack Obama, especially when his VP turns out to be the popular Gov. of New Mexico, Bill Richardson. You heard it hear first!

Sexy First Lady

This is obviously going to be a good year for the Democratic party. They are already out there blasting McCain. John Kerry called the Senator "confused".
That's a great word to use in reference to little John, because it points up his advanced age. Look for other Dem's to use the same word in an effort to brand McCain.
Maureen Dowd in her Op Ed column today says the Republicans are going to go all out to vilify Michelle Obama. There is two parts to their strategy. The one is to try to scare the dumber amongst us. And the other is to get her to lose her cool.
No doubt she is undergoing intense training to keep that from happening. Personally, I can't wait for the two of them to move in to the White House. She will most certainly be the sexiest first lady ever. Jackie O had a great sense of style and all, but she was never sexy. Michelle on the other hand is most sensual.
In pictures of the two it really does look like a return to Camelot. I just wish the press would stop calling it a Black Camelot.
Poor Bill Clinton must be just beside himself.

History

This has been an historical primary campaign. Who could have predicted that Barack Obama would take the nomination from the former first lady?
What has been most interesting is how much excitement Barack generates. He is more like a rock star than a politician. That's why he is often compared to the Kennedy's, both Jack and Bobby. Women faint at his gatherings. And as he generates excitement, he stimulates people to get involved. His ability to bring in cash contributions at the grass roots level is astounding. His appeal has brought in many young, college-age voters participating in the democratic process for the first time.

This has been a heated campaign. The rivalry with Senator Clinton has been intense and sometimes nasty. But after the convention, after Hillary and Barack have hugged and kissed, the Dem's will solidly unite behind their candidate.
And if you think Senator Obama has generated excitement so far, well, you ain't seen nothing yet.
This is going to be the election that the Democrat's have been waiting for. Democrats running for office are going to do very well on his coat tails.

I love all this talk of a close race. Of John McCain being a strong candidate. Bullshit! My mother could beat McCain this year. Barack isn't just going to win, he is going to beat McCain senseless. This election is going to be a Democratic landslide of historical proportions.

Go Barack!

Barack Obama, the next president of the United States. Basically I was right that Obama would sew this up before the convention. I was only off on the timing by a few weeks.

Can you believe the way the Clinton's are sucking up for the VP slot? Forgetaboutit!
It's going to Bill Richardson. I'm sure that Hillary supporters will be happy with a Obama/Richardson ticket. Hillary can now go on to become a great US senator. And her husband, the former President, can continue his legendary philandering.

Obama/Richardson

The New York Times is reporting that Barack is looking at VP's. However Memex Man is going to take the mystery out of this story. They will go through a dog and pony show, pretending to search for the right person, but it's going to be Bill Richardson

FirstFamily

Don't it make you proud?
Hey, I jumped the gun just a little on my last post, however everyone but Bill and Hillary knows it's over. It has been a very interesting primary, but now on to the main event. The Republicans, as always, are going to run a dirty, lowlife campaign.
They are going to low ball Obama, he's a Muslim, a nigger, a rapist, whatever. It ain't going to work for them this time. The Obama's will be moving into the White House in January.
Photo-Doug Mills/N.Y.Times

God Bless Barack Obama !

Last night's primary shows that Hillary can not stop Barack Obama. Watch for the Super Delegates to stampede to Barack before next weeks primary. There isn't a Republican alive today, much less the old and feeble John McCain, who could win the White House after what the frat boy President has done to America. God Bless America! And God Bless the next President and his wife, Barack and Michell Obama!

Yahoo

Jerry Yang was right to wiggle out of the jaws of Microsoft. Stockholders angry that he sent MS away are wrong. Yang plays nice, saying he was willing to sell but the reality is he knows what a mistake it would have been. USA Today had an amusing quote from venture capitalist Todd Dagres espousing what he called the crocodile strategy. "Instead of trying to swallow Yahoo while it's still thrashing about, you let the stock drop and let the shareholders get good and nervous," says Dagres. "In essence, you drag Yahoo to the bottom of the river, stick it under a rock and eat it later, when it's cold and soft."

That's very funny but it seems that Steve Ballmer got spooked and realized what a mistake it was. Maybe he's one of the words richest men for a reason, huh?
The USA article speculates that he had time to think it over, but come on, he must have given this plenty of thought before hand. More likely is he read my post, CloseTheWindows, and realized his error.
What Yang needs to do now is focus on his core assets, mail and search. Spend some money on search and make it better!
As for Yahoo-Mail, take away the ad's, and improve the software. Give Mail a world class word program to rival MS Word.
Jerry, don't you realize that Yahoo Mail is your crown jewel?

Apple Pad

Apple's acquisition of chip maker, P.A Semi has caught the blog world by surprise. The last company they bought was Emagic, back in 2002. That was fortuitous for Mac users because it gave us Garage Band. Just in case you don't know, Garage Band is the most intuitive, user friendly software program ever written. It's also a wonderful recording studio!
P.A. Semi designs ultra portable processors. It could be that Apple wants to incorporate these into the iPhone. Or maybe they are working on a new device. Something new for the masses.
After all it's been five years sense Apple changed the world with the iPod. The iPhone is revolutionizing cell phones, but hey, it's yesterday. It's time for the Wizard Of Cupertino to amaze us once again. To give us a devise we didn't know we couldn't live w/out.
I know what I want. I want an affordable internet devise that uses Apple's new touch screen technology.
A large iPod Touch, for watching movies, and cruising cyberspace. Is it feasible to type directly on a touch screen?
If touch screen is going be the next big thing, it needs to be on something bigger than an iPhone. It is begging to be on a notebook. A note-pad, really.
I've talked about it before, and I bring it up again because I know this is going to be good.

$4 Dollar Gas, Has Me Wondering

Today is the Pennsylvania primary and unless someone breaks out, nothing is going to change.
I'm tired of thinking about this race, it has given me a headache! I will vote for any Democrat that gets the nomination, and so will the rest of America.
Jimmy Carter is in the Mideast trying to reach a new peace. I find that to be interesting.
It reminds me that Jerry Brown is going to be the next Governor of California. You may not think much of that, but you will. And you heard it hear first!
I am wondering how Barack or Hillary, whomever the next president, is going to get us out of Iraq.
And I am wondering how Americans living in the lower tax brackets, are going to deal with the new price of gas. Well, really, how is the middle class going to cope? And sinse rising gas is the engine of inflation, are we at the beginning of a mad roller coaster of hyper inflation?
Is this is going to be one of those “adjustments”, where the weak get weeded out?
Can we expect many of the new middle class will be shoved back down to the working class?
I keep reading that we now have more inequity than the gilded age. Cutting tax for the very wealthy is Republican gospel. I guess because they get away with it, they think it's true.
I mean Ronald Reagan is still a hero to blue collar guy's.
Now the Clinton's have joined the supper well off. Life sure is good!
Just as President Bush was startled to learn gas was reaching $4 dollars, Bill and Hill sure don't need to worry about the price at the pump.

I Want My WiFi!

Remember when cable TV first took off?
Pete Townsend, and other celebrities used to pop up all day long and proclaim “ I want my MTV.” That commercial was everywhere back then.

I bring this up because I'm tempted to start screaming, I want my WiFi!
And why shouldn't I? I mean, where is it?
What is impeding the rapid deployment of city wide, WiFi networks?
EarthLink, it was reported two years ago, was partnering with Google to illuminate San Francisco.
Then, last August they mysteriously changed their mind. It isn't economical they say. How do they know this? I think they are being either disingenuous or incredibly short sighted. Or maybe both!
WiFi pop's up everywhere these days. Increasingly in buses, trains, and airplanes.
At McDonnell's and Denny's it's mostly free, at Boarders and Starbuck's you have to pay. If Boarder's should start to offer it for free, can Starbuck's afford to keep charging?

Have you taken the time to think about what it would mean if we had city's blanketed with fast, reliable and free WiFi networks? For one thing, high cell phone cost's would evaporate. VOIP calling would be simple and presumably the wave of the future. If this is true than CEO's up at IT&T and Verizon must be contemplating sixteen ways to commit suicide. Because Internet phone calling could kill the goose that lays the golden cell phone bill. And it's not just the phone company's that are in trouble. The cable company's stand to lose a great deal of business too. When you can use your computer to program your evening's television viewing, why would you need to pay uncle cable ninety nine dollars a month?
You can bet too, that these industries are breathing down the harry necks of your local congressperson, to stall and impede this change in any way possible.
The Internet and computers are changing everything. There will invariably be winners and loser's.
At this point in time , the record companies are looking a lot like losers. It's hard to feel sorry for these companies. Especially after the way they have been treating artists and fans.
But the lesson big business should be learning is you can't stop new technology.
It is a much better idea to adopt and be creative, than to stand in the way screaming "Pirates, Pirates".

AppleBite

I am very excited that a new company called Psystar, is selling mac clones. And apparently I'm not the only one. The internet is buzzing about the news. Here is a great post from CNet.
Now I can run Logic, on a quad core, for around $1,000. That's HOT!

A Cheaper OS X

Right on cue for my last post a company called Psystar is selling an Apple Clone for $399 w/out the operating system.
Add OS X, and it comes to about $550. And that is with 2 gig's of ever needing memory.

CloseTheWindows

The Internet is buzzing over the death of Windows XP. Vista has not been successful, so the upcoming withdrawal of XP is making users uncomfortable. They are awaiting the arrival of Windows 7 to solve their problems, but who's to say that MS will get it right this time? They worked on Vista for several years postponing its debut many, many times and it still sucks. Meanwhile Apple has an operating system that is great and keeps getting better. Not only is OS X stable and a lot more fun to use, it comes bundled with goodies like Garage Band and iMovie. And did I mention that OS X is affordable as well?

And while MS is burdened with many problems, like how to compete with Google, Apple can do no wrong. The iPod is a phenomena. iTunes is now the number one music retailer. And the iPhone has sparked a mini revolution in the cell phone industry.

The timing could not be more auspicious for Apple to release an OS for PCs! Come on Steve, you finally went with Intel. Now make an OS X for Dell and HP to install on factory computers. It doesn't even have to be the latest version. Tiger would work. Please Mr Job's, we need this.

Meanwhile, MS move to take over Yahoo is as dumb as when Time Warner let itself merge with AOL.
The main reason Yahoo was able to attract so many customers is because it was not MS. Yahoo mail grew because people were fed up with HotMail. How is it that the people who run MS don't understand this?

Dude, we don't like your brand! We don't like what you stand for.
You are the dark side, and you always will be. You really think that we are going to stay at Yahoo once you take it over?
Why do you think we left Hotmail in the first place?

The Race Goes On

Hillary did well enough that the race continues. The last thing the Democrats need right now is a divided party. Its becoming apparent that the party needs to resolve the problem of seating the delegations from FL. and MI.
The party chairman, Howard Dean, Say's the party won't pay for it.
He says the party can't afford it. It would seem to me they can't afford not to. This is just the type of thing that can split the party.
Eight years ago the results of the election were highly questionable. Even four years ago there were flags raised. I don't know about you, but I'm nervous. I want to see the person who wins this election actually take office. I really don't think there is a great deal of difference between the two party's.
The Democratic party is really just the left wing of the Republican party. They have this good cop, bad cop routine that they both play to the hilt. And thats it, really! A stage show for the benefit of the public.
Be that as it may, a Democrat is better than a Republican! And who knows maybe Obama has not sold his soul, though I doubt it.

Microsoft Eats Yahoo. Are You Next?

Microsoft is buying Yahoo because they can't innovate their way to dominance over Google.
But Yahoo hasn't done any better.
You can't compete because your bloated and slow, so you buy another fat, out of shape company?
Then there is the price, $45 Billion. But if Microsoft gets burned will they even feel it?
Time Warner felt the pain of their AOL fiasco. But they didn't use money that apparently has just been lying around in a warehouse.

Originally MS thought the key to advertising dollars was going to be the browser. So they crushed Netscape. However they soon discovered that search held the payday. But getting Yahoo's customers doesn't solve the core problem, which is that more people prefer to search using Google. When I'm at Yahoo and I do a search, I don't use their window. I use the Google search window in my browser, or I go to Google's home page.

Then there's the question of identity. Will there be Yahoo mail and Hotmail? Separate and not linked?
It would be insane to merge the two brands, but who knows what these people are thinking.
Google has been a great success do to just one feature, search. Likewise, Yahoo has grown largely on the success of their mail program. If the tight ass's at Hotmail had only relaxed a bit , Yahoo might not have caught on.
And there in is the other problem with this merger. Many people dislike Microsoft and still consider it the evil empire. How many fan's will Yahoo lose because of this link to the death star?
Maybe Google should build a multipurpose home page for Yahoo jumpers to switch to.

Hot Bulletin

I'm happy to note that the entire media agreed with me that Hillary needs to win Ohio and Texas for her campaign to survive.
I repeat that as far as I can tell, I said it first on February 13th!
See Obama Tsunami ? below.
Ok I said she will most likely win Texas and she must win Ohio.
Same thing really. And then on the 19th after the Wisconsin Primary, the Media started with this she must take Ohio and Texas.
So Memexman was a week ahead of the professionals. Not bad!
Will my super delegate prediction in the same post also happen?

New Leadership

I'm holding my breath till this Tuesday's ( 3-4-08 ) primary results are in.
It would be nice if the Democrats could coalesce behind one or the other of their candidates. It seems that either of the two will be able to defeat Senator McCain.
The excitement that this campaign has generated is infectious. America knows it time for a new party. The people want the White House back!
That great pendulum that swung so far to the right under Ronald Reagan is now about to sweep the nation back to the left.
Barack understands this. He is the new FDR, the mythic American.
A leader who can move mountains by inspiring the public. That's what the great presidents do, they convince the nation to follow them in a new direction. Of coarse a forceful leader can also lead a nation to destruction.
Thats why character is so important to American voters.
Obama may or may not know what he is going to do, but if he truly has the character that he is projecting, he will move heaven and earth to lead us anew.
Did FDR know what he was going to do when he got to Washington? Did Lincoln?
Today Lincoln is revered for his dogged determination and his unwavering fairness.
If a president is going to declare marshal law you want it to be Lincoln not Nixon.

And then, is the president going to do what's good for the people or is he going to side with the elite?
We love President Clinton for balancing the budget and appointing fair judges .
But we also distrust him for not moving us forward in a progressive manner. You know, an enlightened energy policy, national health care, maybe a cut in the military.
The last time the Democrats had The White House they didn't lead, they survived.
It seem that for eight years the Clinton's had their backs to the wall, the wagons circled. Much of that had to do with the viciousness of the new Republican party. The crush your enemy thuggery that was inherited from Nixon, and perfected by Lee Atwater.
But certainly president Clinton heaped trouble on his own head with his incredibly silly dalliance with “that women”, Monica Lewinsky.
The next president of the United States faces tremendous challenges. We are fighting two wars. Our infrastructure is deteriorating, and we are in massive debt. Energy and housing prices are out of control. We have more people in jail than any country in the world. We are the land of immigrants building a fence around our country. Worst of all terrorism and global warming threaten our very existence. Now would be the time for inspired new leadership.

Obama Tsunami ?

If there really is such a thing as momentum, then Barack Obama is riding this wave like a champion surfer.
Yesterday he won Maryland, DC, and Virginia. That's 8 wins in a row! It's hard not to get excited.
Apparently Hillary isn't going to contest the Wisconsin primary or the Hawaiian caucus and that will make 10 straight wins going in to Ohio and Texas.
So far the hispanic vote has been for Hillary, so that may cover Texas. But if she doesn't hold Ohio, it could be all over for her.
The NY Times reported that in Virginia and Maryland, Barack polled older women and white males for the first time. That's got to be terrible news for Hillary.
If the Obama wave turns to a tsunami you can bet the super delegates will want to be onboard this ship before it docks at the convention.

$Billion

This morning as I scanned the news I thought the headline said Microsoft offers $44 billion for Yahoo, instead of $44 million.
I'm so dumb sometimes! It must have been a typo huh?

Bill Catches Hill

Like I said before, the trouble with “two for one” is that you have twice the opportunity for mistakes!
The media consensus is that President Clinton did more damage than good by coming out swinging in South Carolina.
Bill's effort to tarnish Obama as a closet Reagan supporter failed at the polls and in the media.
Barack not only stomped Hillary, but todays endorsement from Sen. Kennedy delivers a one two punch if not to Hillary, than surely to the former president.
The Kennedy endorsement is more of a blow to Bill , really, than to Hillary.
Apparently Kennedy was particularly pissed at Bill's underhanded politicking. The former president put his reputation on the line and he lost.
You can bet that from now on Bill Clinton will be kept at the back of the campaign bus.
The press holds Mr Clinton 's political skills in high regard. There was speculation that Bill was trying to get under Obama's skin. Get him to blow up and look bad. Could it be that Baracks offhand comment that Nixon , or Clinton had not changed things was designed to goad Clinton?
Sen. McCain gushed on Meet The Press that President Clinton was the best politician in America, maybe that's no longer true.

Down&Dirty

I thought the gloves were coming off for New Hampshire but I guess that was nothing.
Bill and Hillary are playing for keeps against the optimistic Obama.
You could tell Barack was feeling the heat when he snapped at Hillary that it was hard to tell who he was running against. Bill continues attacking Obama on the ground in South Carolina, allowing Hillary to remain above the fray. The Clinton's are playing dirty, distorting what Obama said about Reagan. To a certain extent they are getting away with it. It does sway voters. And thats what its all about, winning the delegates. You get the feeling that the Clinton's will do whatever it takes!
That a former president is willing to get down and dirty against the Democrats youngest and brightest candidate is distasteful, and bad for the party.
The key for Mr Obama is he needs to respond to their demeaning tactics, yet stay cool. I'm sure Bill would love nothing more than to provoke anger of some sort. Get Obama so worked up that he makes a major blunder.

iLove

My favorite Apple critic David Pogue of the New York Times reviews the new MacBook Air. I think he really likes it, he says “it’s a stunningly beautiful aluminum slab, three-quarters of an inch thick. Its edges are beveled to look even thinner. When it’s on a table, you might mistake this laptop for a place-mat. This laptop’s cool aluminum skin and smooth edges make it ridiculously satisfying to hold, carry, open and close. You can’t take your eyes or your hands off it.” Wow David sounds like you had quite a tactile experience here.
He says the machine is not for everyone, it's not a good primary machine for instance.
He concludes “ But as a satellite machine for travelers, executives and presenters, it’s spectacular. Full-size screen, full-size keyboard and five-hour battery in three-quarters of an inch? Get psyched; this laptop is a razor-thin slice of heaven”.
I would call that an endorsement.

My Comic Book Post

Every blog needs a least one comic book post!
Here is a cover from the sixties by Jack Kirby, who pretty much designed the Marvel Universe as we know it.
Mark Evanier worked for Kirby and talks about him here.
Or go visit the Kirby Museum.
You can read the digital comics from Marvel online.

iTouchMyself

This image is from Microsoft.
It's for a browser plugin called Silverlight.
Think of it as MS version of Flash Player
I use it though, because it represents how I see the $700 moviePod looking.
An Internet devise that's just short of a full fledged computer.Use it to surf the Internet, watch video's and movies. And then throw it on the couch. No keyboards, nothing to close.
It should be scratch proof and bounce when dropped. See my earlier posts.

Thinnovation

I suppose the latest Fake Steve post is funny. But really, Apple is doing a better job than any other company in designing digital commerce. The papers say Apple has all this competition, but that's hooey!
iTunes is the perfect vehicle to preview and then rent movies. And sense everyone all ready uses iTunes, it should rapidly become the standard for movies. The new Air is really nice, but I still say they now need a $700 moviePod, so to speak.
Bigger than an iPod touch, but smaller and more portable than a MacBook. For $700 it doesn't have to do much. It should do everything the Touch does, email, etc. And it need's a great screen to watch movies. But why not use a touch screen for keyboards and see what happens? This devise must be drop proof.

AppleMania

Macworld has come and gone and Job's didn't pull a new rabbit from the hat. Alas, that's OK.
He announced an ultra thin, beautiful notebook for the well off. But no new WiFi device. The improvements to the iPhone and the iPod Touch will have to do. They both are becoming essential devices. For Three hundred dollars the touch is a remarkable product!
What Apple is doing is moving to make movie download from your Internet a reality. It's very easy to download a movie and watch it on your computer monitor, laptop, iTouch, iPhone, or iPod.
And then get Apple TV and watch on that new super deluxe Television you got yourself for Christmas.
Apple is using iTunes not QuickTime for it's computer delivery . iTunes has become the other browser really, after Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari.
As of now Apple only has a few movies for rent. That should change fast.

Obama Rocks!

All Eye's on Steve Job's

I can't help but wonder what Apple's next move is going to be. They are in such an interesting position. Talk about the come back kid. Both Steve and the company. Their success has been to take a new device and modify the concept. To rethink it, make it what it should have been.
Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't iTunes about selling iPods? So if Apples next move is to become the place for movie downloads don't they need a “moviePod”?

What could Apple do? Larger than the iPod Touch or the iPhone, but smaller than a laptop. No keypad, just screen? A nice wide screen, obviously, but with good speakers.
The problem with movies is the download time, so maybe a device that streams movies over WiFi.

Or maybe a new toy for a new generation. Imagine a new typewriter where you could type with words instead of letters? Or a new musical instrument, controlling sound with your fingertips. That's not going to happen, but it's fun to think about.

An Exciting Start to the New Year

Photo-AP/Paul Sakuma

I'm proud of myself for resisting the urge to post enthusiastically over Obama's Iowa surge.
On the eve of New Hampshire it was starting to look like Barack's rising wave was going to crest into a tsunami.
Prior to a single vote being cast, blogger's were claiming that Hillary's money had dried up. That she was finished etc. Oh brother, gimmie a break already!
In any case Barack's loss to Hillary has most certainly slowed his momentum.
This is the most extraordinary election in the history of the USA, is it not?

Next up on the excitement scale , the Steve Job's Magic show at Macworld. What great new toy will the wizard pull from his hat? I'm not being sarcastic, I love the guy. He is our Edison, who was the last century's media magician.

Campaign 08

Iowa was certainly interesting, but I stand by my earlier post that the nomination is Hillary's to lose.
On the other hand, if Barack brings in loads of new young voters than all bets are off.

Bring In The New Year

The new year is upon us, and it's getting exciting!
Who will win New Hampshire and Iowa?
And maybe even more important, what new wondrous product will Steve Job's unveil at Macworld?

Bill Clinton's mySpace

Did you know that Bill Clinton has a my space page?
It's almost disconcerting, but then again, why not?

The former president links to his wife Hillary, of coarse. He links to voter organizations. Then to the usual liberal organizations. The UCLA, the NAACP, and the UN.
Then he has Martin Luther King, Noam Chomsky, and Gandhi.
Wow, Noam sandwiched between two dead saints. Considering that he is completely ignored by all the news media I find it to be interesting placement.

Why Fi-ght It?

The new digital reader from Amazon has stroked a need. Its the wireless abilities that makes the Kindle attractive.
It is the coming wave!
Shortly WiFi will be everywhere, and it will be free.
You heard it here first, so let me repeat:
WiFi is going to be very fast, and very reliable. It will be free, and it will be everywhere.
I'm not sure what is holding its adoption up. I suspect its because the big boys are afraid of it. They suspect it wants to be free, and that it is a game changer.
The iTouch and Kendle are two new WiFi devises that are only scratching the surface of what is to come. As computers become smaller and leave the tether of a house connection, WiFi becomes the obvious way to connect. One size does not fit all, and soon there will be an explosion of portable computer-assistants.

On My Mind, Open Office, Go Google?

I changed my opening logo, I hope you like it! Is any one reading me? Drop a comment or send some mail!
I have started another blog , a photo newspaper about downtown. It's called The San Diego Gaslamp

I installed Apple's new OS recently, and it seems to have slowed down my mac significantly.
It's OS X.5, nicknamed Leopard.
Certain software programs take forever to open now. I would like to reformat my hard drive and reinstall OS X.4 , But it's to much work. I should have waited, really!

I have been using NeoOffice as my word program and I like it just fine. MS Office for Mac sure is pretty, but I prefer to put my money where my mouth is and go with the open source program.

It's so easy to hate Microsoft, and hard not to like Google. But let's not forget that G is just another big brother in the making! It seems to have tentacles reaching everywhere these days.
Googles answer to MS recently has been to build their app's on the web and give them away. But can any one tell me why I should use a word processor on the net when Open Office is free as well?

Re-Kindle Your Love Of Reading

I love to read online. But as your probably aware, it's not so pleasing to the eye. A new technology called electronic ink solves this problem. Apparently it's nice the way paper is.
Amazon has come out with their new wireless book reader, called Kindle. David Pouge has a wonderful review here.
The great thing about this new devise is it comes with free wireless.
Kindle lets you download books, newspaper's, and blogs as well. I love the idea of having my NY Times waiting patiently at my bedside (or napsack) at three in the morning.

Race to the White House

After all the waiting, the presidential primaries are about to commence.
Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama are neck and neck, with John Edwards breathing down the hair on those necks.
It's tight and that makes it exciting.
It's close and that makes it worth fighting for.
It's important because of the momentum it will bestow.
A win by Barack or Edwards, will shift the front runner status that Hillary has owned.
After eight years of a disastrous and dull-witted republican administration, democrats want the White House. They really want it!
If the senior vote, the largest block, suspects that Hillary is vulnerable, they might swarm like bee's to the youthfully appealing Barack. Or stampede like a herd of buffalo to the wise ass, legal eagle, Edwards.
With New Hampshire falling almost on top of Iowa, this race will be over before it begins. If Mrs Clinton is going to put her challengers in their place she needs to do it now.
Mrs Clinton's husband, Bill, has been drawing large crowds as he campaigns for her. He is the best speaker in America today, and he works a crowd as good as his idol Elvis, ever did! His presidency was considered a success by almost everyone, so it's no surprise that the Clinton's should be playing to the idea of a co-presidency. But is that constitutional, and does anyone even care?

I'm not an iMac

Dell has finally come out with their answer to Apple's iMac. What I need to know is am I missing something here? Why would you not buy the iMac? Explain it to me, leave me a post, please. And go to the two very different web sites. The Dell site looks like an electronics catalogue. I know some people must like that, but they shop for clothes at Sears. On the other hand Apple's web site is really great, one of the best on the net!
You shouldn't buy because of advertising, but you expect a computer company to at least have an interesting web presence. The Dell sight is your fathers Oldsmobile.

A Cool Music Site in Southern Califonia

This evening as I surfed the Internet wondering what I was going to post, I discovered this site devoted to music.
I could spend a few days in here reading his post on guitars and amplifiers.

Mickey Mouse Mice Riot

It's not bad enough that hollywood writers are on strike. Now this. Memexman has these exclusive photos of Mickey Mouse's in riot gear at Disney Land.

Surfs Up!

I love surfing the internet, don't you? It's an adventure, you never know where you are going to end up.
Alexa makes a terrific plugin that shows you related sights. I never go surfing with out it.

Memex-Man, the novel

I’m not the Memex. I’m just a man, a cog in the great wheel that is Memex.
Memex is all knowing all seeing, all powerful, but makes no judgments. I guess that’s where it differs from the old god. Jehovah was nothing if not judgmental.
Looking back, I realize I miss him, that ancient deity who created the cosmos and the universe, yet was concerned with earthly justice.

My job is mostly to observe Memex, scan the logs, check for unusual occurrences. Make sure the vast reams of information are moving along nicely. No bottlenecks.
I’m not one of those Memex fanatics, like the guys up in AlphaOmega. It’s just what I do, nine to five.
After the Millennium Wars, religion was banned and Memex was promoted to the role of benevolent protector.
Memex downloads one hundred percent of everything! Every human in the world is on Memex hard drive. There is no one who is born or dies that isn't digitized by Memex.
His eyes are ubiquitous. His processors constantly whirl.

Naturally enough, with everyone at all times accountable for their behavior, crime has virtually disappeared.
Drugs were legalized, so that had something to do with it.
All the old blue laws, remnants of the old testament, have been discarded.

God Save The Sex Pistols

The Sex Pistols reunited for a show in LA on Thursday. What fun! Johnny Rotten has been saying for years that it was they, and not the Ramones who invented Punk rock. Everyone knows the Ramones started it all. But to be fair, it was the Sex Pistols who put the punk in Punk rock!
A while back Mr. Rotten hosted a short lived TV show on VH1. It was hilarious! I saw it only once. He was at a resort or convention where there were lots of celebrities. His gimmick was to coax them into making fools of themselves.
The actor James Woods kindly obliged. He was obviously drunk, and didn't catch on that John was utterly humiliating him. He would make truly arrogant statements, and John would turn to the camera and give that funny cross eyed look of his. It was terribly funny stuff!
I always suspected that it was a furiously pissed off James Woods who got the show cancelled.
Neil Young wrote, "this is the ballad of Johnny Rotten, the king is dead but not forgotten."
Well he is neither dead nor forgotten.

Cool & Interesting Web Pages

One of the nice things about Providence, RI. is a performance club , and artist space called AS220!
Besides having many interesting things going on at their club, their site is unique and full of great content. Click the tittle!

Learning2Write

With the advent of the Internet we are all writers, film makers, and rock stars. I don’t think any one in the world is reading my blog, so really, it may as well just be a journal on my computer. But the thought that people all over the world have access to it, and could possibly read it, thrills me.

If I knew anything about office software, typing, or punctuation this wouldn’t be so hard. But maybe it would, writing is not easy. I have been reading authors talk about the craft and they seem to say sometimes it comes easy and sometimes it’s hard and painful. When I used to read guitar player magazine songwriters would all say that the good songs wrote themselves. Norman Mailer seems to say the same thing. A good character takes on a life of his own. The author needs to sit back and let the character go where he may. I used to take that to mean I didn’t have to do much work, I could let the hero write the story for me. As long as he didn’t try to cash the check, that would be all right. Mailer let’s you know though, it’s hard, hard work. He compares learning to write to learning to play piano.
My heart sank when I read that, since I’m trying to learn piano as well.
I know I’m not alone in wanting to find an easier way to do things. I can’t escape the idea that there’s some writers software out there that will magically produce a book for me.
The screenwriters union may go on strike and my mind thinks this is a golden opportunity. It’s the kind of hair-brain scheme my mom always talks about. On the other hand, if it motivates me to write than more power to me. Motivation is, I think, the key to learning anything.
The biggest obstacle is the nagging self doubt. Nag, nag, nag, if you know what I mean.

Listening to Internet Radio While San Diego Burn's

I'm not sure how I could get to work today because of the wild fires that are consuming southern California. Instead I'm listening to Pandora Radio. It's an open source radio station that lets you program what you want to hear. I'm listening to Jelly Roll Morton, James P Johnson, and Fat's Waller. I'm so hip, huh?

I have, uh hum, been piggy backing on my neighbors WiFi signal. His fire wall has been preventing me from posting.The solution is a browser plug-in that lets me write and edit from my browser. Cool huh? Thats why at the bottom of this post it says
powered by SribeFire. Check it out!

Powered by ScribeFire.

CBGB gave me the Heebie-Jeebie's

Back in 1977 when I was working as a bartender at 315 Bowery, my mother used to call from Miami, FL. "Tommy are you still working at the Heebie Jeebie's" she would ask.

I just finished devouring Steven Lee Beeber's excellent new book about the Jewish influence on Punk rock. I loved it! http://www.jewpunk.com/
My only complaint would be that he didn't follow his thesis to it's inevitable conclusion, that Joey Ramone was the true Rock&Roll Messiah that Elvis so mistakenly thought he was.
A case could be made that without the Ramones and the rest of the NYC Punk scene, R&R would have died of boredom and old age. The Ramones came along, just in the nick of time, and resurrected R&R.
In his life time Joey never really ascended to the heights of R&R Royalty. He was never crowned like Elvis. Never a superstar in the way of Jagger or Jimmy Page. He wasn't the spoiled , pampered duke in the back of a limo ( no offence, Bowie). He didn't even move to Beverly Hills, where the elite of R&R live in royal splendor. In short, he was very much in the old testament tradition for a prophet. The Jewish Messiah, at least in the christian version, is someone you wouldn't ever suspect. And who would ever think of Joey Ramone as the King Of (Punk) Rock?
The only group of people I can think of who would hold Joey as "the King" would be dissatisfied, alienated , young teenage boy's,the very heart of R&R fandom!

Department of rock&roll

Is there any one cooler and more creative than White Strips music auteur Jack White?
Well no there's not, but ex Pixies song man Black Francis is definitely as original!

After decades of hiding from his pixies muse he's finally channeling that great sound he did back in the eighties! He claims It's a Dutch musician , but no he's a kick ass rock an roller.

Vice President of The United States Barack Obama

There's no way that Barack Obama won't be the democrats VP. He poll's to well among the independents. He excites the kind of people who normally sit out presidential elections.
Hillary has got to be hoping that she bulldozes through the primaries, so she won't have to bad mouth her future VP.
There are those who will argue that it's bad enough to be running a women, don't make it worse by adding a black man. But anyone who won't except a black American, probably won't vote for a women anyway.
Take it from Memexman, no matter how much mud gets thrown, Barack Obama will be the party's Vice President.

Race To The White House

Was it Thirty five years ago that a young handsome couple, Bill and Hillary Clinton decided to do the Adam's one better by becoming the first husband and wife presidents of the United States?

It's been eight years since the Clinton's called the White house home. One can imagine they are more than anxious to move back into their old place! This time of coarse, Hillary will have the master bed room.
With Hillary in command Bill will have plenty of opportunity for sexual dalliance.
Washington columnists and gossips must be absolutely salivating over the prospect of Bill as the nations first gentleman.

The first female president of the US. The first ex president living in the White House. The first black vice president. It's going to be very, very interesting!
That alone is reason to vote for her.