Sunday, March 14th, 2010
Sarah Palin baffles me.
Family members will recall that I was not in favor initially of John McCain selecting her as his VP candidate. Her selection was largely due to her gender. To me, that made her a weak selection. But the thing is, I really liked what she said (On hindsight, perhaps she didn’t say a whole lot, however.). McCain lost not because of her but rather because of his inane policies.
With the election over, Palin returned to Alaska with lots of newfound prying eyes. Then she quit her job.
Well now, that was an odd move. I will say she presented the issue well. Well enough I kind of gave her a pass on it. Certainly initially, I was more supportive of the move than I am now. Palin claimed that the frivolous lawsuits were mounting and that while governor, was not financially able to mount challenges. Okay, I can believe that. Shoot, we would not be able to do so from our paychecks either.
The newly unemployed Palin did what all politicians seem to do; she wrote a book. I had no desire to read the book, and from what I gleaned, it wasn’t much of one. But I suppose it put the money in her pocket that she needed for the lawsuits and provide for her family for a bit.
But Palin has continued to perplex me. She now is employed by Fox News. I understand why Fox News would want her as an employee, but what does working for the news network do for her? Her credibility has taken a huge hit. She is now a pundit for hire. There is nothing inherently wrong with that, but those folks are not political leaders. She is now in the raft with the likes of Dick Morris.
Some may point to Mike Huckabee as a similar politican-turned-pundit. Most assume Huckabee will run again for president in 2012. But what can Huckabee point to having done during the his two runs? He hosts a vapid television show on the weekends. That is a huge mark against him should he decide to run. and if he doesn’t run, what will he have to offer the news network at that point?
If Palin wants to escape that comparison, she needs to differentiate herself from another seeming contender. She isn’t doing that.
Free of playing second fiddle on a ticket and representing a state, this is the time for Palin to show her stuff, as it were. She had a rousing speech at a tea party convention a couple weeks ago. Yet, there was no meat to the speech at all.
What does she do to follow that up? She is now the warm-up act to Glenn Beck’s tour. Perhaps her speech was full of specifics that the reviewer neglected to report.
Palin says expanded government and growth in federal spending will hurt the country.
She says Washington is disconnected from the rest of America, arguing that Congress is ignoring the demands of the people to stop expanding government programs.
Palin told the audience that Americans should remember that the government works for them and not the other way around.
It’s a message that resonated with her fans.
It’s not that I disagree with those sentiments; I have the same thoughts myself. The issue is what does Palin suggest we do? The answer to that needs to rise above the discourse that I would write here. Shoot, I’ve called for pruning the federal Education Department. Has Palin even taken that small step?
When does the country learn of Palin’s policies? Certainly if she has any expectations of running for office she will need to present some. Right now she is seen as a quitter with a folksy delivery. And if Palin does not want to run for office, just what does she have to offer? As insidious as Dick Morris is, he does offer some policies . . . they just happen to be wrong most of the time.
Granted Palin is making money now that I am not. If that is her goal, then she can disregard me. If she wants more than money whether it be public office or a place at the table, she needs credibility. Hers is quite suspect right now. From where I sit, she isn’t making the correct moves to lend legitimacy to her point of view.
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Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
Over the years I have listened to plenty of radio stations that have gone through format changes. The one thing that seems to be common to all of them is the chase of the almighty dollar. It would seem that stations change format merely to attract more revenue. If Top 40 isn’t working out, move to rap. Shoot WIP, the nation’s first all-sports radio, used to be an adult contemporary station.
Surely we are all familiar with stations that have done so.
Why then don’t television stations do the same thing?
There is one cable news channel excelling; the rest are failing. Fox News viewership is up heavily month after month. Meanwhile, their competition CNN and MSNBC have plummeting audiences. Given the distinct differences between formats, it would seem that CNN and MSNBC would abandon a liberal editorial bent to move more toward the center in an effort to capture more of the market.
We’re talking business here. Moving a channel’s political point of view is not compromising core values as it would be for an individual.
If a station that is right of your channel is gobbling up the viewers every month, isn’t it good business to change your programming to capture some of that market?
CBS puts on a hospital show that does well, NBC will follow suit. When reality television worked, all the stations began creating such shows. So why doesn’t CNN and MSNBC do the same? Wouldn’t it be smart business to do so?
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Sunday, January 24th, 2010
I read that new villas have been built and sold at NJMP. The properties will be taxed. All this is positive. I just hope we don’t find out that the property taxes on the villas are at a rate not commensurate wih the $425,000 price tag of the homes . . . Congratulations to the Colts and the Saints. I like it when a new team makes it to the show. Go Saints! . . . Speaking of football, I think moving the Pro Bowl to next week at the same site as the Super Bowl the following week is an excellent move on the part of the NFL. It will drive viewers and give football fans something to watch as they wait for the big game . . . I love the smell of the woods on me after hiking. It should be packaged as a cologne (not) . . . For some reason, the older the children grow, the more difficult it seems to stay ahead of the laundry . . . This is why I disdain James Carville. Going with the Blame Bush defense has grown tired, much like the Cajun himself . . . I used to link to New York Times articles. I don’t any longer. I have no illusions as to what effect that has, however, few sites I read these days link to the Times. A few years ago the NYT placed its editorial content behind a fee schedule. It abandoned that when it saw how much money it lost. Not having learned anything from that experiment, the NYT is prepared to put all its content on a meter. Links are king and no one links to PPV content online . . .
Posted in Football, Media, New Jersey, Politics, Sports | No Comments »
Friday, November 6th, 2009
I chuckled aloud when I read this Dilbert strip today . . .Have you ever got the feeling a site is dying? As much as I enjoy Clayton’s Today in Social Media podcast, the once daily podcast has become a sporadic every few days type of thing. Clayton had mentioned going to a weekly broadcast. While I did not favor that, at least it would be regular. The way it is now, it’s whenever, which certainly is not how to build an audience . . . The smell of roasting vegetables is one of the pleasures of this life . . . Congratulations to the Yankees. They were the better team during this Series . . . Legal help please: SF Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum was pulled over for speeding. The officer smelled marijuana. Lincecum handed over 3+ grams and a pipe. Yet he pleaded not guilty. I know the charges could be trumped up, but for argument’s sake, let’s say Lincecum was high and this was his stash. Why wouldn’t one admit to it, pay the $622 fine and move on? . . . I have no issue with Barbara Boxer’s move to take a committee vote while the Republican members refused to sit and participate . . . Duane posted an 8th grade civics test from 1954. Could you pass this today? . . . I vividly recall Steve Allen reading the lyrics to Donna Summer’s Hot Stuff on the Tonight Show. Unfortunately, You Tube pulled the video of that. Not to be outdone, Christopher Walken reprised the humor using Lady Gaga’s Poker Face lyrics. This cracks me up . . . Reading The Soprano State is like re-living a nightmare . . . Further evidence New Jersey’s way of running government is insidious . . .
Posted in Baseball, Culinary, Education, Entertainment, Media, New Jersey, Politics, Sports | No Comments »
Monday, October 5th, 2009
This is scary; Arabs are arranging to price oil in a variety of currencies, none of which are dollars. This is just another step to dismantle USA’s strength . . . I don’t see buying this any time soon. The gadgets folks come up with is amazing though . . . NJ.com reported that Governor Corzine is the #1 contributor of cash to Democratic organizations in 20 of the 21 counties. Are you surprised? . . . Newspapers get the facts wrong. Biden’s appearance in June was not a “surprise” . . . Governor Corzine is touting New Jersey’s rate of solar installations. He thinks its grand. Yet when I attended a conference in the spring discussing New Jersey’s energy issues, NJBUP president Jeanne Fox announced solar is dead in the state . . . Spent some time in the International Spy Museum on Saturday participating in a live-action spy adventure. Very kewl! Can’t wait for the GPS spy adventure that is coming . . . Speaking of DC, had a great time in our nation’s capital . . . I have been mulling over a unique idea to render a clue for a game. I need to flesh it out and then decide which game it will best fit: shutterspot, geocaching, something else . . . Gourmet magazine is to be no more. I used to like that magazine, but I stopped reading it long ago when I stopped reading most mags. Today I subscribe to none . . .
Posted in Culinary, GPS Games, Media, New Jersey, Politics | No Comments »
