As we noted on Thursday, it's been a surprisingly packed week of news, including positive news about jobs, horrifying news about Egypt (that most Americans don't understand), and some amazingly clownish news coming from the right wing, including their party's stunningly dark attempts at voter suppression. There's also been plenty of bad news throughout the media and journalism industries this week.
Even so, the bogeymen of fear that sometimes even dig around in the dreams of our staff members don't seem to be able to hold us down today. In fact, since it's Friday, we've decided to take the high road and give some well-earned kudos to some very deserving friends and colleagues in our industry, as well as some respects to some now departed members of the media.
In the area of praise, we have none higher than for those members of our media industry weathering massive changes at radio and TV networks like SiriusXM, Current, Pivot, and Al-Jazerra America.
For example, the Current TV network is ending its two-plus year run this weekend, which is sad to see in some ways. Thankfully, some of their fantastic producers and writers have been hired on at Al-Jazerra America, the news network taking over Current's channel positions. Sadly, a few amazingly talented former Current staffers are now "on the beach" professionally, including Peabody Award winner and former CNN correspondent Jacki Schechner, as well as comedian, writer, political pundit and TV star, John Fugelsang.
For all those we know who are the best, yet for one reason or another are now looking for work, on an emotional level we empathize. On a practical level, we want to point you to the story we noted in Thursday's extended edition, from CNN, that the overall number of jobs in journalism and media in now significantly up.
Now to pay our respects.
As the increasingly unstable Middle East region goes through even more turmoil with the collapse of the current interim Egyptian government, several more journalists lost their lives this week including British Sky News cameramen Mick Deane, and Dubai's XPress journalist Habiba Ahmed Abd Elaziz. We also lost the great political journalist Jack Germond this week, to the ever-present opponent of every journalist, time.
We love being in the media. We wouldn't do what we do, or spend the hours poring over the tools of our trade to create great work if we didn't. Ask anyone who's worked in the media professionally for a substantive period and most will say the same thing.
There is a cost, however, borne by some of our fellow professionals who take the biggest risks, traveling into war zones to get the stories the rest of us, frankly, are too scared to cover that close-up.
So for those in our profession who made that ultimate sacrifice this week, we ask that you do something for them, and for us, this weekend.
Enjoy some paid media. Go to a theater and watch a movie with your friends. Buy a book, newspaper subscription, or a comic book from a local retailer. Turn on your local or satellite radio if you're out and about. And if you're home watching TV, flip over to a new channel like Pivot or Al Jazeera America.
While you're at it, if you could, hug your family and friends too.
And as always, thanks for reading The Daily Felltoon.
Friday, August 16, 2013
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Defining Quixotic
If you think because most of official Washington is on vacation, that you'll need to go on some kind of grand quest to find real news right now, we can say with one hundred percent certainty that you're wrong.
Much to the chagrin of those of us in the news and information business who were expecting a relaxing August, there are a ton of great stories right now. From the news that networking company Cisco is planning to cut 4,000 jobs, to the beginning of the end of the recession in Europe, to the final end of California's Prop 8, to the upcoming budget battles in DC, important, substantive news stories are nearly everywhere we look today.
Some of the biggest stories this week though involve war, in one from or another. Sadly, most of these wars seem to be accurately defined as "quixotic": Exceedingly idealistic; unrealistic and impractical.
The "war" extremist Republicans seem desperate to wage against Obamacare is one example, as we pointed out Wednesday. Another war is the United State's ridiculous "War on Drugs," a conflict that Attorney General Eric Holder made clear earlier this week, the Obama Administration is no longer looking to fight.
Frankly, we can't disagree with the Administration's decision to stop tilting at the drug war windmill. As both Ed Kilgore and Greg Sargent noted, stopping pointless overspending on drug policing, while ending ineffective mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent criminals are things that large numbers of Americans across the political spectrum agree on.
The biggest war going on, however, isn't on American soil. It's in Egypt, where the concept of a mostly civil revolution may have finally proven the most impractical of any of the conflicts in the news this week.
Reliable and verifiable media reports from Egypt were often hard to come by before the recent clashes of violence. After the deaths of hundreds - including the deaths of multiple journalists - that happened during the crackdown on protests by the military, firm statistics on the numbers of dead and injured are even more difficult to find.
The short version of the ongoing conflict is this. Supporters of recently deposed President Morsi, who generally side with the Muslim Brotherhood, make up a significant and sizable minority in Egypt. They are rebelling against the primarily secular and Christian factions in the country who have been attempting to form a new government. Neither side is too fond of the military, who has put Egypt under a month-long state of emergency, complete with daily curfews throughout the country. It appears some in the military may even have designs of taking control of Egypt once again, as it was for thirty years under Hosni Mubarak.
In the Middle East, a perpetually unstable region, Egypt has long been America's ally for many reasons - not the least of which is that whoever controls Egypt controls access to the Suez Canal, a key shipping route for major corporations from the Middle East and Asia to the Western hemisphere. Egypt has also, for many years, helped the U.S. to keep a lid on the perpetual conflict between Israelis and Palestinians - who are currently starting peace negotiations once again.
For those two reasons alone, America has been loathe to change policies and call what's been going on in Egypt a legal "coup". Doing so may endanger the passage of American ships in the Suez, while admitting America no longer has a powerful political ally in the region.
No matter what the outcome of any of the conflicts we covered today, the simple fact is this: If a war costs too damn much, has no obvious end, and won't be of much benefit to anyone, no matter who wins, isn't that also a definition of quixotic?
Much to the chagrin of those of us in the news and information business who were expecting a relaxing August, there are a ton of great stories right now. From the news that networking company Cisco is planning to cut 4,000 jobs, to the beginning of the end of the recession in Europe, to the final end of California's Prop 8, to the upcoming budget battles in DC, important, substantive news stories are nearly everywhere we look today.
Some of the biggest stories this week though involve war, in one from or another. Sadly, most of these wars seem to be accurately defined as "quixotic": Exceedingly idealistic; unrealistic and impractical.
The "war" extremist Republicans seem desperate to wage against Obamacare is one example, as we pointed out Wednesday. Another war is the United State's ridiculous "War on Drugs," a conflict that Attorney General Eric Holder made clear earlier this week, the Obama Administration is no longer looking to fight.
Frankly, we can't disagree with the Administration's decision to stop tilting at the drug war windmill. As both Ed Kilgore and Greg Sargent noted, stopping pointless overspending on drug policing, while ending ineffective mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent criminals are things that large numbers of Americans across the political spectrum agree on.
The biggest war going on, however, isn't on American soil. It's in Egypt, where the concept of a mostly civil revolution may have finally proven the most impractical of any of the conflicts in the news this week.
Reliable and verifiable media reports from Egypt were often hard to come by before the recent clashes of violence. After the deaths of hundreds - including the deaths of multiple journalists - that happened during the crackdown on protests by the military, firm statistics on the numbers of dead and injured are even more difficult to find.
The short version of the ongoing conflict is this. Supporters of recently deposed President Morsi, who generally side with the Muslim Brotherhood, make up a significant and sizable minority in Egypt. They are rebelling against the primarily secular and Christian factions in the country who have been attempting to form a new government. Neither side is too fond of the military, who has put Egypt under a month-long state of emergency, complete with daily curfews throughout the country. It appears some in the military may even have designs of taking control of Egypt once again, as it was for thirty years under Hosni Mubarak.
In the Middle East, a perpetually unstable region, Egypt has long been America's ally for many reasons - not the least of which is that whoever controls Egypt controls access to the Suez Canal, a key shipping route for major corporations from the Middle East and Asia to the Western hemisphere. Egypt has also, for many years, helped the U.S. to keep a lid on the perpetual conflict between Israelis and Palestinians - who are currently starting peace negotiations once again.
For those two reasons alone, America has been loathe to change policies and call what's been going on in Egypt a legal "coup". Doing so may endanger the passage of American ships in the Suez, while admitting America no longer has a powerful political ally in the region.
No matter what the outcome of any of the conflicts we covered today, the simple fact is this: If a war costs too damn much, has no obvious end, and won't be of much benefit to anyone, no matter who wins, isn't that also a definition of quixotic?
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
GOP Clowns, Still Near The Edge
In the past, we've often used the metaphor of a clown to represent blithely clueless politicians. While we mean no insult to clowns, the metaphor couldn't be any more fitting this month - especially in light of the racist anti-Obama rodeo clown and his crew at the Missouri State Fair.
The clown has since been banned for life from working at the State Fair in Missouri and may end up being permanently banned from rodeos throughout the 'Show Me' state. Some may feel that punishment is a bit overboard, like getting kicked in the head by a bull. We believe the harsh punishment is likely the exact intention of the Missouri State Fair board: To make sure no one else ever tries another similarly disrespectful and stupid stunt. Hopefully, that clown learned his lesson.
Sadly, a large number of Republican clowns in Congress still haven't learned the harsh lessons of the 1995 Federal government shutdown, including freshman Republican Senator Deb Fischer of Nebraska. Fischer recently signed a letter stating - in effect - that she and the other Congressional Republican clowns would prefer the political equivalent of getting kicked in the head by a bull, and knocked over the edge into the political abyss during the next few election cycles.
Contrary to what you might have thought yesterday morning, Republican leaders have yet to pull their craziest members back from the abyss.
It's true that Senate Minority Leader Mitch 'My campaign manager hates me' McConnell made some noise on Tuesday that made it sound like he thinks a government shutdown would be stupid. But as Greg Sargent correctly notes, McConnell's comments are merely a political distraction, as many Republican leaders think voters aren't paying attention right now. In other words, Republicans in Congress may still shut down the government this fall, even though their leadership has admitted that shutting down the government won't stop Obamacare.
If you thought Newt Gingrich was acting like a three-year old having a temper tantrum when he and Republicans shut down the government back in 1995, Newt's antics from back then have nothing on the GOP clown show now.
If Republican members of Congress wanted to be even slightly constructive, they could at least be pretending to intelligently focus their criticisms on the bumpy rollout of Obamacare. Another adjustment in the rollout of Obamacare was announced on Tuesday - at which point, certain Republicans immediately began acting melodramatic about how the whole health care law is a disaster. However, as both Greg Sargent and and Ezra Klein noted Tuesday, and as the facts confirm, Obamacare is not a train wreck and this adjustment is just a slight delay.
Those facts still don't appear to be changing the antics of Republicans like Fischer, Rand Paul, Mike Lee, and Marco Rubio, who all seem more than willing to shut down the government, apparently just for their own enjoyment.
For her part, at least Sen. Fischer hasn't been like most of her cowardly colleagues in Congress, who overwhelmingly have been avoiding holding town hall meetings during the August recess. Fischer has no less than a half-dozen public open town hall meetings scheduled over the next week - and if you're a constituent of hers, we highly recommend you attend.
Town halls or not, the facts remain as clear as a blast of seltzer to the face. Congressional Republicans like Fischer insist they're willing to shut down the Federal government in order to stop Obamacare, yet even their own leadership admits a government shutdown won't stop Obamacare. They can't "win" this game they're playing - so why the hell are Republicans looking to lose by getting kicked in the head and knocked into the political abyss?
Either they're clowning around or they really are suicidal.
The clown has since been banned for life from working at the State Fair in Missouri and may end up being permanently banned from rodeos throughout the 'Show Me' state. Some may feel that punishment is a bit overboard, like getting kicked in the head by a bull. We believe the harsh punishment is likely the exact intention of the Missouri State Fair board: To make sure no one else ever tries another similarly disrespectful and stupid stunt. Hopefully, that clown learned his lesson.
Sadly, a large number of Republican clowns in Congress still haven't learned the harsh lessons of the 1995 Federal government shutdown, including freshman Republican Senator Deb Fischer of Nebraska. Fischer recently signed a letter stating - in effect - that she and the other Congressional Republican clowns would prefer the political equivalent of getting kicked in the head by a bull, and knocked over the edge into the political abyss during the next few election cycles.
Contrary to what you might have thought yesterday morning, Republican leaders have yet to pull their craziest members back from the abyss.
It's true that Senate Minority Leader Mitch 'My campaign manager hates me' McConnell made some noise on Tuesday that made it sound like he thinks a government shutdown would be stupid. But as Greg Sargent correctly notes, McConnell's comments are merely a political distraction, as many Republican leaders think voters aren't paying attention right now. In other words, Republicans in Congress may still shut down the government this fall, even though their leadership has admitted that shutting down the government won't stop Obamacare.
If you thought Newt Gingrich was acting like a three-year old having a temper tantrum when he and Republicans shut down the government back in 1995, Newt's antics from back then have nothing on the GOP clown show now.
If Republican members of Congress wanted to be even slightly constructive, they could at least be pretending to intelligently focus their criticisms on the bumpy rollout of Obamacare. Another adjustment in the rollout of Obamacare was announced on Tuesday - at which point, certain Republicans immediately began acting melodramatic about how the whole health care law is a disaster. However, as both Greg Sargent and and Ezra Klein noted Tuesday, and as the facts confirm, Obamacare is not a train wreck and this adjustment is just a slight delay.
Those facts still don't appear to be changing the antics of Republicans like Fischer, Rand Paul, Mike Lee, and Marco Rubio, who all seem more than willing to shut down the government, apparently just for their own enjoyment.
For her part, at least Sen. Fischer hasn't been like most of her cowardly colleagues in Congress, who overwhelmingly have been avoiding holding town hall meetings during the August recess. Fischer has no less than a half-dozen public open town hall meetings scheduled over the next week - and if you're a constituent of hers, we highly recommend you attend.
Town halls or not, the facts remain as clear as a blast of seltzer to the face. Congressional Republicans like Fischer insist they're willing to shut down the Federal government in order to stop Obamacare, yet even their own leadership admits a government shutdown won't stop Obamacare. They can't "win" this game they're playing - so why the hell are Republicans looking to lose by getting kicked in the head and knocked into the political abyss?
Either they're clowning around or they really are suicidal.
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