Day: 5/23/2008

Hillary & The Dead Kennedys

Posted by on May 23, 2008 at 9:56 pm. 4 Comments :

This past week has seen a perverse conspiracy of events that strains the capacity for people of good will to avoid giving up on civilization all together.

It began with the sad news that Sen. Ted Kennedy was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. As the shock and trauma of that news was settling in, James Rosen of Fox News declared on air that this could not be considered a tragedy because he had lived (past tense) a full life. Soon after, radio Neanderthal Michael Savage decided it would be appropriate to play snippets of the 1980’s punk band The Dead Kennedys, which Savage said was “in respect” for the Senator. Finally, Hillary Clinton weighed in on why she persists in pursuit of a nomination she can’t possibly win:

“My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California.”

So while Sen. Kennedy is awaiting a treatment plan for an often fatal affliction, Sen. Clinton is using brother Bobby’s demise to remind voters that Sen. Obama might be felled before this is all over. If she has any conscience at all, she would be regretting tonight that she didn’t drop out of the race yesterday.

Dragging The Dead Kennedys into this has produced an unexpected benefit in the form of wisdom from their singer, and inspirational hurricane, Jello Biafra. For those not familiar with the band, they were an anarchic, brood of rebellious provocateurs. They chafed at anything hinting of authority. And they would have stuffed a slug like Savage down a garbage disposal if he looked at them funny back in the day. Biafra responded to Savage’s prank in an interview with The Phoenix:

“Obviously he took my song way the hell out of context and did it deliberately. But the bigger issue is Savage himself and how the hell he gets away with stuff like saying this…”

But Biafra went further to assail the broader problem of a media environment that has devolved into a nearly useless heap of bio-waste:

“It scares the shit out of me that the most popular radio talk-show hosts are all foaming-at-the-mouth, ultra-bigoted blabbermongers whom only North Korea or the Nazis could love.

But like it or not, Savage is the third-most popular radio-talk show host in this country behind Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. Nobody from the other side is represented or promoted well enough by the big right-wing-owned radio networks to compete. That’s one of the ways they mindfuck the country into being so dumb they vote for people like George Bush, Mitt Romney and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The real issue here is why aren’t the big candidates calling for media reform?”

~~~

“The damage was further compounded when your friend and mine Bill Clinton rammed through the Telecommunications Act of 1996, further deregulating how many radio stations and media outlets one corporation can own and what they can do with them and they greenlighted their long-held agenda to throw public interest out the window.”

Jello totally nails it. This problem is bigger than a radio crap dispenser; it’s bigger than a Fox News buffoon; it’s even bigger than a pathetic presidential candidate who is the only one that doesn’t know she’s lost. The problem is the media and, were it fixed, these other travesties would be mere annoyances.

John McCain’s Secret Medical Records Revealed

Posted by on May 23, 2008 at 12:10 pm. 3 Comments :

After more than a year of stalling, John McCain is finally making his medical records public. However, the process by which he is releasing the data suggests that he hopes it doesn’t become too public. His campaign has chosen the Friday prior to the three day Memorial Day weekend for the document dump. Even worse, they are restricting access to the records to a three hour period wherein the reporters may take notes, but will not be allowed to take photos or make copies. That’s three hours to read and analyze 400 complex medical documents. The campaign also restricted the access to two newspapers, two wire services, and the national TV news networks. Prominent news organizations like the New York Times, Newsweek, the Wall Street Journal, etc., were not invited. Neither were smaller players like McClatchy, weekly newspapers, alternative press, or anyone from the Internet.

However, News Corpse has acquired some of the classified records that McCain hoped would remain secret. Below is an exclusive document leaked from McCain’s medical team:

Following the release, McCain’s campaign declared that the records proved that he was in good health and fit for office. The evidence here may contradict that assessment by exposing McCain’s mental obsessions and deficiencies. His campaign manager, Rick Davis said of McCain that, “He defies all the rules of aging.” If he is referring to the accumulation of wisdom, reason, and judgment that accompanies maturity, I’m inclined to agree.

And anyone who objects to the raising of McCain’s age needs to realize that it is McCain himself who is making it an issue. He frequently refers to himself being “as old as dirt with more scars than Frankenstein.” He joked about it on Saturday Live. He even ruled himself out of a 2008 campaign back in 2000:

“…by 2008, I think I might be ready to go down to the old soldiers home…”