DAVID GUILBAULT

A RAMBLING FOOL

Sarah Palin steps down.  Here's her speech - Huh?   It's a rambling, incoherent, clearly insincere performance.  And, she's clearly lying through her gleaming white teeth.  Something's up. Every time I hear this buffoon speak, I think the same thing, "Oh ... my ... God."

"We're fishermen. We know only dead fish go with the flow."
- Gov. Sarah Palin

SARAH'S STRAIGHT TALK

"Truly, Sarah Palin has come a long way. When she ran for vice president, she frequently became disjointed and garbled when she departed from her prepared remarks. Now the prepared remarks are incoherent, too.

“And a problem in our country today is apathy,” she said on Friday as she announced that she would resign as governor of Alaska at the end of the month. “It would be apathetic to just hunker down and ‘go with the flow.’ Nah, only dead fish ‘go with the flow.’ No. Productive, fulfilled people determine where to put their efforts, choosing to wisely utilize precious time ... to BUILD UP.”

Basically, the point was that Palin is quitting as governor because she’s not a quitter. Or a deceased salmon.

Sarah Barracuda made her big announcement Friday afternoon on the lawn of her home to an audience that appeared to include only Todd, the kids and the next-door neighbors. Smiling manically, she looked like a parody of the woman who knocked the Republicans dead at their convention. She babbled about her parents’ refrigerator magnet, which apparently had a lot of wise advice. And she recalled her visit with the troops in Kosovo, whose dedication and determination inspired her to ... resign."

- Gail Collins, The New York Times

PALIN AND HER ENEMIES

"If Palin were exactly what her critics believe she is — the distillation of every right-wing pathology, from anti-intellectualism to apocalyptic Christianity — then she wouldn’t be a terribly interesting figure. But this caricature has always missed the point of the Alaska governor’s appeal — one that extends well outside the Republican Party’s shrinking base.

In a recent Pew poll, 44 percent of Americans regarded Palin unfavorably. But slightly more had a favorable impression of her. That number included 46 percent of independents, and 48 percent of Americans without a college education.

That last statistic is a crucial one. Palin’s popularity has as much to do with class as it does with ideology. In this sense, she really is the perfect foil for Barack Obama. Our president represents the meritocratic ideal — that anyone, from any background, can grow up to attend Columbia and Harvard Law School and become a great American success story. But Sarah Palin represents the democratic ideal — that anyone can grow up to be a great success story without graduating from Columbia and Harvard"

- Ross Douthat, The New York Times

MY POOR CAR

I’m grieving.  My car has died.  My poor car.  I’ve owned this wonderful Nissan NX 2000 for 17 years, since buying it new in 1992 in Chicago.  It has a little over 91,000 miles on it.

It’s death is not an insignificant event.  That car was as much a part of me as my breath.   Now, it breathes no more.  In it’s last throes it has been trying to speak to me.  It’s been telling me that life is running out.

That car represented a hold on hope.  It kept me going - literally and figuratively.  I poured hundred of dollars into it in the last two years, trying desparately to keep it on the road, and on the mend.  I paid for overdue parking fines and overpriced parking spaces.  I put new tires, brakes and  radiator into it.  I nursed it like a loved one.

But, it would keep failing on me.  During those times without transportation, I was off my game.  I felt trapped and powerless.  When it was running, I felt I had options, the possibility of freedom and prosperity - maybe even, perish the thought, happiness.

My poor car has endured the travails of my life.  It has carried me through good times and bad, surviving blow after blow.  It has been a faithful mechanical steed.

Now, it has given up the ghost - given away for scrap parts.  Rest in peace, my friend.

NO GAY KISSING

Today is the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in 1969, which gave birth to the Gay Rights Movement.  In 1994, I produced a report on the 25th anniversary for "The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour."  It would be the only time in my career when I would experience censorship.

Manhattan was filled with homosexuals remembering and celebrating an historic moment.  They put on a Gay Olympics, concerts and rallies around New York City and a celebration of love in Central Park.

I was working for Time Inc. New Media, which had a contract with the NewsHour to produce reports for the program.  The video report I submitted looked at all the events of the weekend and was a comprehensive story on the state of gay rights in America at that time. 

In one scene a winning athlete got a congratulatory kiss from his partner.  Another sequence showed gay couples in the park doing what loving couples do all around the world - hugging, holding hands, resting their heads on their loved one's shoulder, brushing back their hair and kissing.  It was a montage of expressions of affection.

The Executive Producer of the NewHour called me to his office across town to tell me to remove the kissing scenes, as they might offend the sensibilities of the older PBS news audience.  I explained that both scenes were "normal" and central to the narrative.  He disagreed.  So, I compromised and said I would remove the congratulatory kiss, as not being completely germane to the athletic event, but that I would leave in the tender kiss at the love rally, as being completely appropriate.  He agreed.

So, I re-cut and resubmitted the finished video report to the NewsHour.

But, when it aired, the NewsHour editors had, without my knowledge or consent, removed the kissing scene in the park.  That meant that they had to extend the video to cover the narration that was under that part of the report.  So, they slow-motioned all the park scenes to fill the gap in the video.  What the audience saw was slowed-down video of all the tender moments, which made them look unnatural and unseemly, like they slow-mo criminals in their orange prison suits for the "perp walk."

Needless to say, I was outraged.  I worked as a news producer for 20 years at ABC News and was one of the founding Senior Producers of Cable News Network.  No one at either of those news organizations ever asked me to edit my report to satisfy the sensibilities of their audience.  I found it disturbing that the so-called liberal powers-that-be at the NewsHour at the time would censor their own reports to satisfy the perceived prejudices of their audience.

To this day, it still bothers me.

Anyway, Frank Rich has a fine op-ed piece in today's New York Times remembering an event that most straight people never heard of to begin with.  It's long past time to embrace human rights for all, all over the world.  A kiss to everyone from me.  Let your freak flags fly.

 

SAD SPECULATION

It will reportedly take weeks before the results of toxicology tests help determine the cause of death of Michael Jackson.  Yet, in the meantime we will have to endure seemingly endless speculative news reports on what may have happened.  Journalists are supposed to report what DID happen, not what MAY have happened.  That current state of journalism is so very sad.  I despair.

POP ICONS

MISTRUSTED SOURCES

As the volatile situation in Iran develops, we should all be wary of reports circulating around the Internet, on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.  Nevertheless, we should also be grateful that there are means to get the word out on what is happening in that press-restricted country.  But beware imposters spreading false information.

The New York Times, in its news blog, The Lede, is doing the best it can to filter through a multitude of sources to try and piece together what is actually happening.  It's worth monitoring.

NEXT GIGS

OH ... MY ... GOD

The return of the Palin Mob:

SICK TALK ON HEALTH CARE

The chief disinformation operative of the Republican party is leading a propaganda campaign against national health care reform.  He is Frank Luntz. 

He has crafted a 28-page talking points memo for Conservatives, called "The Language of Health Care 2009," to trumpet the dishonest accusation of a "Washington takeover of healthcare."  It is cynical, distorted, fear mongering self-interest at its worst.

Luntz advises opponents of universal health care to make the debate about "politicians," "bureaucrats," and "Washington," and to highlight "horror stories" about "government takeover."  He tells them to play on the fear the public has of "denied treatment."

Luntz writes, "The best approach is to empathize with the fear, anxiety and financial pain people are clearly feeling right now. So instead of dismissing their concerns, acknowledge them – up front – and then pivot to your solution. Some conservatives will undoubtedly find this distasteful. But failure to connect on a personal level at the beginning will lead to communication failure at the end."

Later he writes, "It is essential that “deny” and “denial” enter the conservative lexicon immediately because it is at the core of what scares Americans most about a government takeover of healthcare. Then add to it the source of that denial and you have the perfect anti-government, anti-Washington and anti-Democratic message."

So, you will hear this mantra repeated from Republican after Republican:

“No Washington bureaucrat or healthcare lobbyist should stand between your family and your doctor. The Democrats want to put Washington politicians in charge of YOUR healthcare. We can and must do better. Say no to a Washington takeover of healthcare and say yes to personalized patient-centered care.”

Of course, "personalized patient-centered care" is code for health insurance company control. That is the powerful industry Luntz and his cohorts are trying to protect.

Luntz and his associates are the premier manipulators of language for selfish, partisan ends.

Read one of his mission statements from their web site (emphasis is mine): 

Luntz, Maslansky Strategic Research

"Our focus is on language. We believe that every word you use matters.  Luntz, Maslansky is known across the nation for how we reframe issues.  From changing the “estate tax” to the “death tax,” “tax cuts” to “tax relief,” “global warming” to “climate change” – time after time we have succeeded in changing the course of the debate.  By focusing on how to communicate your message, Luntz, Maslansky helps you reframe the issue using your side’s words and messages.  Our unique research methodology allows us to precisely gauge public opinion and develop the most effective approach and language to take control of the issue.  We know how to change hearts and minds and motivate people to act."

from Luntz, Maslansky Strategic Research website

Their goal is to help "virtually every major industry" to distort their message and mask their true agenda.  Another quote from their web site:

"In the political arena, our CEO, Dr. Frank Luntz, is known for helping change the public vocabulary – he transformed the "estate tax" into the "the death tax," moved the public debate from "school vouchers" to "opportunity scholarships," and re-cast "drilling for oil" as "exploring for energy."  ...  In the corporate arena, Luntz, Maslansky currently works for clients in virtually every major industry: pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, energy, health care, transportation, sports, entertainment, travel and tourism, shopping centers, grocery stores, restaurants, food, and beverages."

If Frank Luntz is involved in a public campaign, you may assume the goal is to "pull the wool over your eyes."

And, so then, is his mission in the health care debate.

Photo Credit:  Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images

BING IS THE BORG

Once again, Microsoft is showing itself to be the arrogant, power-hungry evil empire it has always been.  Their ad for their "new" search engine Bing (formerly Live Search), in customary form, takes over the web page it occupies, forcing its message on the unsuspecting user.  Today, when I went to The New York Times, the Washington Post, Huffington Post and MSNBC, there was the ad, popping up and taking over half my screen with its obnoxious braggadocio.  Unlike Apple's user-friendly ads that play silently, in the same ad spaces as the Bing intrusion, and only open when you click them.  But, Microsoft cannot help but act like the Borg, trying to take over and dominate every technology.  Their slogan is "From now on, Bing and decide."  I've decided.  No Bing.  No Borg.  No Microsoft.