
I recently caught an interview given by Senator Chuck Schumer this morning and it was really telling. While most of the focus today is naturally on the election, most of that is just filler until after we get some exit polls and even those are suspect.
Ah...Halloween. A wonderful time of ghosts and goblins. Children dressed up as their favorite mass-marketed television, movie and comic book characters. Trick or treating for as much candy as possible, and telling scary stories at night...In addition, the actions in this country are eeriely close to the predictions of the father of communism, Karl Marx:All socialists advocate the creation of an egalitarian society, in which wealth and power are distributed more evenly.
America deserves better in the coming years, although whether that happens is yet to be seen....Socialism would be achieved via class struggle and a proletarian revolution which represents the transitional stage between capitalism and communism.
Tonight's infomercial buy from Barack Obama was interesting, but fell flat when looking at the bigger picture. First, the only folks who will be swayed by the piece were those already in the Obama camp. The infomercial disappointed me on a couple levels. First, it wasn't broadcast in HD. You've spent roughly $1 million for each network to air the spot, and couldn't even do it in HD? The money I have isn't even close to that, and I've got a camcorder that does 1080p. Second, it wasn't really an infomercial. Billy Mays didn't make a guest appearance, nor did the Rice brothers (and yes, I know that one of them passed away):THE SPIN: "That's why my health care plan includes improving information technology, requires coverage for preventive care and pre-existing conditions and lowers health care costs for the typical family by $2,500 a year."
THE FACTS: His plan does not lower premiums by $2,500, or any set amount. Obama hopes that by spending $50 billion over five years on electronic medical records and by improving access to proven disease management programs, among other steps, consumers will end up saving money. He uses an optimistic analysis to suggest cost reductions in national health care spending could amount to the equivalent of $2,500 for a family of four. Many economists are skeptical those savings can be achieved, but even if they are, it's not a certainty that every dollar would be passed on to consumers in the form of lower premiums.
THE SPIN: "I've offered spending cuts above and beyond their cost."
THE FACTS: Independent analysts say both Obama and Republican John McCain would deepen the deficit. The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates Obama's policy proposals would add a net $428 billion to the deficit over four years - and that analysis accepts the savings he claims from spending cuts. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, whose other findings have been quoted approvingly by the Obama campaign, says: "Both John McCain and Barack Obama have proposed tax plans that would substantially increase the national debt over the next 10 years." The analysis goes on to say: "Neither candidate's plan would significantly increase economic growth unless offset by spending cuts or tax increases that the campaigns have not specified."
THE SPIN: "Here's what I'll do. Cut taxes for every working family making less than $200,000 a year. Give businesses a tax credit for every new employee that they hire right here in the U.S. over the next two years and eliminate tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas. Help homeowners who are making a good faith effort to pay their mortgages, by freezing foreclosures for 90 days. And just like after 9-11, we'll provide low-cost loans to help small businesses pay their workers and keep their doors open. "
THE FACTS: His proposals - the tax cuts, the low-cost loans, the $15 billion a year he promises for alternative energy, and more - cost money, and the country could be facing a record $1 trillion deficit next year. Indeed, Obama recently acknowledged - although not in his commercial - that: "The next president will have to scale back his agenda and some of his proposals."
THE SPIN: "I also believe every American has a right to affordable health care."
THE FACTS: That belief should not be confused with a guarantee of health coverage for all. He makes no such promise. Obama hinted as much in the ad when he said about the problem of the uninsured: "I want to start doing something about it." He would mandate coverage for children but not adults. His program is aimed at making insurance more affordable by offering the choice of government-subsidized coverage similar to that in a plan for federal employees and other steps, including requiring larger employers to share costs of insuring workers.
THE SPIN: "We are currently spending $10 billion a month in Iraq, when they have a $79 billion surplus. It seems to me that if we're going to be strong at home as well as strong abroad that we've got to look at bringing that war to a close." These lines in the ad were taken from a debate with McCain.
THE FACTS: Obama was once and very often definitive about getting combat troops out in 16 months (At times during the primaries, he promised to do so within a year). More recently, without backing away explicitly from the 16-month withdrawal pledge, he has talked of the need for flexibility. In the primaries, it would have been a jarring departure for him to have said merely that "we've got to look at" ending the war. As for Iraq's surplus, it's true that Iraq could end up with a surplus that large, but that hasn't happened yet.

Ah, the updated Knight Rider. Bad Acting? Check. A super badass car? Check. The show isn't going to win any awards for well...anything. The show is simply a fun escape from reality. They've upped the ante from the original version and added some sex appeal with Michael's love interest and Asian tech girl. A couple things make the show fail however - First, the main character's name is Mike Traceur. They came up with a bogus storyline in one of the first couple episodes to change it to Michael Knight. Next, they changed the car into a Mustang. Finally, the car goes a little overboard, not with the technology, but the morphing into "attack mode" and an F-150, which is simply stupid.
Life on Mars is an interesting show. I've only seen the first episode, but the premise of a cop in 2008 getting hit by a car and waking up in 1973, and then being a cop in that era, all while trying to determine which reality is real, or if the 1973 reality is a dream, coma, drug hallucination or something else. I'm hoping it doesn't go the way of Journeyman this season, but with Michael Imperioli and Harvey Keitel headlining the show, perhaps it won't.
Last, but not least, Crusoe is the final show I've added to my weekly lineup. As the name implies, it is based upon the Daniel Defoe novel, Robinson Crusoe. The main character is shipwrecked and stranded on an island. He has one companion, a "savage" named Friday who he saved. Crusoe is somewhat of a genius with the ability to invent things in a MacGyver like fashion. I'm likening it to an old fashioned lost, without all the conspiracy theory garbage. It also adds the only Friday show to my lineup, but Friday isn't generally a strong TV night, so I'm curious if the top brass will move it to a better spot.Using bully tactics to limit interviews which askThere's nothing wrong with tough questions, but reporters have the very important job of sharing the truth with the public -- not misleading the American people with false information. Senator Biden handled the interview well; however, the anchor was completely unprofessional. Senator Biden's wife is not running for elected office, and there are many other stations in the Orlando television market that would gladly conduct a respectful and factual interview with her.
This cancellation is non-negotiable, and further opportunities for your station to interview with this campaign are unlikely, at best for the duration of the remaining days until the election.
Update: WFTV has released the following statement regarding the interview:
WFTV-Channel 9's Barbara West conducted a satellite interview with Sen. Joe Biden on Thursday. A friend says it's some of the best entertainment he's seen recently. What do you think?
West wondered about Sen. Barack Obama's comment, to Joe the Plumber, about spreading the wealth. She quoted Karl Marx and asked how Obama isn't being a Marxist with the "spreading the wealth" comment.
"Are you joking?" said Biden, who is Obama's running mate. "No," West said.
West later asked Biden about his comments that Obama could be tested early on as president. She wondered if the Delaware senator was saying America's days as the world's leading power were over.
"I don't know who's writing your questions," Biden shot back.
Biden so disliked West's line of questioning that the Obama campaign canceled a WFTV interview with Jill Biden, the candidate's wife.
"This cancellation is non-negotiable, and further opportunities for your station to interview with this campaign are unlikely, at best for the duration of the remaining days until the election," wrote Laura K. McGinnis, Central Florida communications director for the Obama campaign.
McGinnis said the Biden cancellation was "a result of her husband's experience yesterday during the satellite interview with Barbara West."
WFTV news director Bob Jordan said, "When you get a shot to ask these candidates, you want to make the most of it. They usually give you five minutes."
Jordan said political campaigns in general pick and choose the stations they like. And stations often pose softball questions during the satellite interviews.
"Mr. Biden didn't like the questions," Jordan said. "We choose not to ask softball questions."
Jordan added, "I'm crying foul on this one."
What did you think of the interview?
While there has been much talk about Joe Biden's comments at a Seattle fundraiser:My problem is not what Biden said - he's extremely prone to gaffes and says stupid things given the opportunity. The problem is that his words are very scary after the previous Wednesday officials from both campaigns met with the Bush Administration to discuss a smooth transition to the next administration due to the terror threats that exist in our current political climate.Mark my words - It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. The world is looking. We're about to elect a brilliant 47-year-old senator president of the United States of America.Watch. We're going to have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy.
And he's going to need help . . . to stand with him. Because it's not going to be apparent initially; it's not going to be apparent that we're right.
This ACORN fiasco is getting out of hand. Obama may not be responsible for these apparent pieces of voter registration fraud. Yes, during the debate he said they were apparent frauds, not actual frauds. In any event, the proof of the voter fraud is insurmountable now.I'm curious as to what format the show will follow. I usually catch the CNN HN version of his show at 7PM while driving via XM. That'll simply switch to Fox News in the Spring. Wonder if he'll mention it at all tonight...doubtful though - announcing a jump to a competititor when it is still months away sounds a bit classless.Glenn Beck has signed a multi-year agreement to join FOX News, announced Roger Ailes, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of FOX News. Beginning next spring, Beck will host FOX News Channel’s (FNC) 5 PM/ET weekday program as well as a weekend show on the network.
Currently, Beck serves as the host of Glenn Beck, a talk show on CNN’s Headline News which has grown more than 200% in viewership in both the 7pm and 9pm timeslots since its 2006 debut. He also hosts a daily radio show The Glenn Beck Program which is syndicated via Premiere Radio Networks to more than 300 stations nationwide as well as XM Satellite Radio, and ranks as the third most listened to radio talk show in America among adults 25-54.
In making the announcement, Ailes said, “As we embark on a new political landscape, Glenn’s thought provoking commentary will complement an already stellar line-up of stars at FOX News”
Well, the debates are all finished now. This was probably the best debate out of the three. Finally we got into some of the meat and potatoes regarding the economic policies of each candidate, which is fitting since they both released their respective plans this week.