Following his election in November, President Obama promised a new era of openness and sharing in the federal government.

Pointing out that the Bush Administration has been one of the most secretive in American history, Barack Obama has vowed to drastically increase government openness with a new level of transparency and accountability.

Amusing pledge coming from a guy who has sealed or refused to reveal all possible education, health and birth records. But, maybe he’s had a change of heart?

I’ve noticed watching Obama’s already frequent press conferences that he is very selective about the questions he answers. He has told a reporter not to waste his time on a chosen topic and instead pick another question. He has walked away from the podium when he does not care for a particular query. Perhaps he has found a way to make his meetings with the press even a little more comfortable … which is tough to do when you are already surrounded by people who never asked a single tough question of you during the campaign and who enjoyed “thrills up their leg” at the mere sound of your voice and who admit their “knees quaked a bit” at the prospect of reporting on your candidacy.

According to an article last week in the Chicago Sun-Times, Obama may be making standard practice of controlling the media:

The Obama news conferences tell that story, making one yearn for the return of the always-irritating Sam Donaldson to awaken the slumbering press to the notion that decorum isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

The press corps, most of us, don’t even bother raising our hands any more to ask questions because Obama always has before him a list of correspondents who’ve been advised they will be called upon that day.

That’s great. Make sure you only take friendly questions and don’t be pestered by anyone who wants to challenge the concept that you have any idea what you are doing. We shouldn’t be surprised, though. He kicked journalists off his campaign plane who represented newspapers that were not always friendly to him.

Yes, the path is definitely being established for great transparency.

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Don Imus says:

“That’s some rough girls from Rutgers…Man, they got tattoos … That’s some nappy headed hoes there, I’m going to tell you that.”

He is fired from his nationally syndicated radio show and his TV simulcast and met with weeks of public outrage and condemnation.

Jamie Foxx says:

“Who is Miley Cyrus? The one with all the gums? She’s got to get a gum transplant! [Miley should] make a sex tape and grow up. Get like Britney Spears and do some heroin. Do like Lindsay Lohan … and get some crack in your pipe … That’s what I want.”

A female voice added that the sex tape should be “with [her] dad” and another participant in the radio show called Cyrus a “white bitch.”

What happened to Jamie Foxx? He apologized on The Tonight Show and The Bonnie Hunt Show an chalked up his comments to “being a comedian”. And, that seems to be about it.

Foxx makes hurtful statements about an underage female’s appearance, encourages her to do drugs, accepts discussions of incest between said girl and her father, and allows her to be called a bitch on his show. He apologies on a couple of talk shows and now all is well.

Why isn’t Fox being run from the airwaves just like Imus? His comments, and those made by others on his show, are at least as offensive as those spoken by Imus two years ago.

For the record, I don’t think that either man should be fired. I do, however, fully advocate turning them off. A drop-off in listeners and movie attendees for Foxx would be a wonderful consequence!

I never listened to Imus, so I had no problem tuning him out. And, I’ve never been a Jamie Foxx fan. He isn’t that funny and his singing is painful. So, I now will gladly change the station whenever he comes on the air.

It’s great to know that the person who is supposed to be objectively moderating the vice-presidential debate tomorrow night has a financial stake in Biden’s victory. I’m confident that her questioning and time management will be fair and impartial, aren’t you?

Gwen Ifill of PBS is releasing a new book on Inauguration Day 2009 titled The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama. If Obama isn’t taking the oath of office on 1/20/09 (we can hope!!), won’t that deflate the notion that the “Age of Obama” has begun? And, coming in second place isn’t as much of an astounding “Breakthrough” as an actual victory. So, Ifill’s book sales are reliant on an Obama/Biden win next month. How can we trust her to give equal treatment to both Biden and Palin?

If Jim Lehrer had shared his plans to release John McCain: The Marvelous Maverick Prepares to Change the World as the New President of the United States in January, would people have been OK with him running the first debate? Probably not. Besides not having such an obvious title, Ifill’s new release is no different. She should be replaced.

Liberals like to refer to Fox News as “Faux News” and scream obscenities at any Fox personality who dares to attend the Democratic convention and it’s all very cute and charming. However, can you seriously argue that MSNBC is any better? Actually, how can you argue it’s not worse?

O’Reilly and Hannity make no secret of the fact they are conservatives. You know that you are receiving a particular slant when watching their programs. On the other hand, people like Schuster, Olbermann, and Matthews don’t start their programs by saying, “I am a liberal Democrat and I’m not going to apologize for it. Please know this as you watch my program.” They just pant and moan every time Barack Obama speaks and let us reach the conclusion of their political leanings for ourselves.

Fox News has all of the top Democrats as guests on its network. MSNBC usually seems to find some C-list Republican goober (that is not redundant) that the host knows will not do an effective job of communicating the message. To be fair, perhaps MSNBC can’t get bigger names to appear on the network because those of consequence know that no one is watching. In so many ways, MSNBC is the Air America of cable television.

I just hope the next blogger who links to another one of Keith Olbermann’s brilliant Special Comments after just trashing Fox News realizes the amazing hypocrisy of his (or her) actions.abbott and costello meet the invisible man divx movie online

MSNBC is actually defending Obama’s advocacy of maintaining one’s tire pressure to address energy prices, implying that McCain’s criticism of him is the truly ridiculous position to take.

Obama’s energy policy is akin to using a slingshot against an Abrams tank.

On a related note, I do enjoy the flaming chevette on the side of the road that MSNBC’s defense of Obama has become.

His return to blogging is a welcome one.

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I spent a few minutes listening to Steve Gill this morning. I get a little restless with The Wakeup Zone once my fellow Terp Frank Wycheck leaves at 9:00am, so I start pushing buttons and searching for other talk options.

Today, Mr. Gill was discussing the embrace of the need for AIDS awareness by Hollywood. He believes that people on the Left Coast bring attention to AIDS as a way of promoting a gay and lesbian lifestyle that involves “perverse” sexual activity. That’s right! Betcha didn’t know those little red ribbons shoot invisible beams that turn people into flaming homosexuals. Do you know the real reason that Senator Obama stopped wearing the American flag pin? He was tired of supporters breaking into “God Bless America” every time he turned in their direction. Yep … patriotic beams!

Mr. Gill used a tone of disdain for gays and seemed to imply the ridiculous notion that AIDS is a punishment for being gay. Yes, this disease started in the gay community more than 25 years ago, but its effects have been felt by people from all backgrounds (just ask Ryan White or the college student who had sex in 1985 with her unknowingly infected boyfriend). Where is the compassion and respect for a human being regardless of your thoughts on his lifestyle?

I believe that, in 2007 America, most new cases of HIV infection are the result of poor decisions. There is enough education now concerning safe sex and clean needles that people should be able to protect themselves. Blood tranfusions are now expected to be safe. I was part of one of the first high school classes that had Health as a graduation requirement, and the decision to add this course was a direct result of AIDS. And, to be honest, I would vote to more money into research for cancer or Alzeheimers than AIDS any day. All this being said, I would never say that a person deserved to get AIDS or that a push for a cure was meant to excuse dangerous behavior.

Side (Related) Note: I’m a huge fan of The Soup and I try to catch it every Friday night ( at least when I’m not out getting wasted and dancing on tables). Joel McHale made a brilliant point which, to paraphrase, was something like, “Gay couples can’t get married but Pamela Anderson and Rick Solomon … each of whom has public sex tapes and previous divorces … can get married between performances of Ms. Anderson’s new Vegas show. That makes sense”. As Fred Thompson believes, let the states decide!

When I open The New York Times each morning, I always start with the Letters to the Editor. A good chuckle is a pleasant way to start one’s day! The opinions are generally quite one-sided for one of three possible reasons:

1. Most of the people who read the NYT are left-leaning, and therefore are bound to constitute more of the letters

2. The NYT chooses to publish mostly letters with a left-leaning slant

3. Conservative readers, for whatever reason, just aren’t as inclined to submit a letter to the editor (and, no, it’s not because they don’t know how to write a complete sentence, you liberal elites … you know you were thinking it)

Today’s letters focused on Al Gore as a newly minted Nobel Peace Laureate. The general theme … this award is meant to make up for the fact that Gore had the election stolen from him in 2000. Two telling excerpts are as follows:

What a different world we would have except for butterly ballots and a conniving Supreme Court.

and

Maybe next time, the Supreme Court justices will follow the Constitution and allow the states to resolve their own election disputes. In 2000, they made the wrong decision not only for America, but also for our planet.

It warms my heart when liberals embrace federalism. I feel like there is hope for politics in this country, after all. I certainly don’t want a detailed rehashing of the 2000 election seven years later, and my grasp of the details aren’t as fresh as they once were. However, do people forget that Florida’s state legislature was controlled by Republicans? It’s almost certain the state’s votes would have been certified for Bush anyway. Would that have been OK since the state retained power to make that call? Doubtful.

Another letter writer brings up the obvious question that I have often asked. What does a movie and activism concerning global warming have to do with world peace? If anything, isn’t there a more fitting science category? The man who penned the letter explains the connection as such,

Those who claim, oddly, that the environment has nothing to do with “peace” should look at the award another way. Al Gore defeated George W. Bush in 2000 and he knew it … Rather than allow the nation to be plunged into a growing constitutional crisis … Al Gore accepted the peculiar ruling of the Supreme Court. Al Gore placed the safety and security of the nation above his own political ambition.

That makes absolutely no sense. This person contends that Gore’s desire to bring peace after the election, if you wish to make the argument that Gore really had such noble goals, is worthy of the award. Fine. Believe that. However, Gore’s actions in 2000 are completely separate from The Incovenient Truth work for which he actually won the prize. So, we return to the belief that Gore is owed this award to make up for the Supreme Court decision seven years ago. By this logic, Al Gore could have done cartwheels for eighteen hours straight and the committee would have seen fit to make him a Nobel Prize Laureate.

I must head off to bed now so that I am rested and fresh to read tomorrow’s letters. I’m hoping for a handful about how Rush Limbaugh should be censored (because free speech concerns don’t apply to conservatives) and perhaps a few about how we need to intervene in Darfur now (because sometimes unprovoked military action simply to protect human life and promote freedom is OK).

I have been meaning to share a moment I saw during CNN’s coverage of the Jena protests. A reporter stood among the largely-minority crowd and, in a ridiculous attempt to compare the gathering to the crowds of people left stranded in another part of Louisiana two years ago, she shared the following with the viewers (please allow my paraphrase, as I did not have a tape recorder handy):

It is hot down here in Louisiana today. And, for hours, no one came to provide water or toilets. I kept wondering,”Where is the water?”  Finally, in the middle of the afternoon, some relief arrived in the form of a truck bringing bottled water. And, I hear that Porta-Pottys have been set up. Despite these challenging conditions, those here to speak their mind kept a positive attitude.

Hello, Ms. Reporter, this is not a repeat of Hurricane Katrina. Everyone assembled around you arrived in Jena by choice.  Many of them are college students, and undoubtedly understand the need for liquids when the weather is hot.  I checked the online Yellow Pages, and there are nine gas stations and twenty drug stores in Jena.  Betcha that most, if not all, have both bathrooms and water for sale.  While people certainly have a right to gather and protest, the government does not need to call up FEMA to have cold water and lavatories at the ready. As much as you are apparently trying to create some drama, there is no great controversy here surrounding lack of government-sponsored hydration.

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I tuned into The Steve Gill Show this morning and had the pleasure of hearing his interview with the Vanderbilt student who is featured in Playboy’s new “Girls of the SEC” issue. (I will not even look for a link to these pictures to post here.) Mr. Gill had an eager and excited tone during his conversation with this assumedly hot coed. And, while he commented (after the interview) that he would not be a happy parent if his daughter made the decision to pose nude, he was friendly to her and mentioned how smart and articulate she seemed.

This Vandy student is a consenting adult so I applaud her right to find the experience liberating and exciting (it’s not for me, not that Hugh Hefner is banging down my door). I’m in favor of legalizing most things if all parties involved are of age. However, I do not understand how someone can complain about supposed societal decay but then provide a platform for a guest whose moral decisions given a pass because they are appealing to the male eye. How is someone who is participating in pornography OK but someone who happens to be gay not? Everyone is entitled to an opinion and a worldview, I’m just looking for consistency and the attempt to treat all people fairly and with respect.

For anyone who doubts the leftist slant of the mainstream media, let us move past voting records, and issue polls of journalists, and move directly on to in-kind contributions, in the form of discounted ad rates

The Times acknowledged to The Post on Wednesday that the going rate for such an ad would be $181,692.

But a spokesman for MoveOn told The Post that the group paid just $65,000.

Amid a firestorm of criticism yesterday, the Times seemed confused about the proper ad rate.

Earlier in the day, the paper’s spokeswoman said MoveOn had received a discount and confirmed to Reuters the normal rate was “about $181,000.” But later, the same spokeswoman told The Associated Press that the proper rate for such an ad is about $65,000.

Saying he wanted to place an advocacy group ad similar to MoveOn’s, a Post re porter who contacted the Times without identifying himself was told earlier this week that the rate was about $167,000.

“We do not distinguish the advertising rates based on the political content of the ad,” spokeswoman Catherine Mathis said, confirming that the normal rate was “around $181,000.”

Of course you don’t. That’s why MoveOn.org received somewhere between a 61% and 64% discount on its “aid and comfort to the enemy” ad attacking the commanding general in Iraq for not adopting its fabricated version of complete disaster in the Middle East.

Of course, the Times, being the upstanding bellwether of responsible and fair journalism that it is, will certainly offer the same discount rate to Freedom’s Watch. Or not. We will certainly see. There is no debate that the price for the ad that was sold to MoveOn.org was $65,000.00. The real fun will be watching the debacle when the Times explains in its answer to a certain shareholders’ derivative suit why it has cut its ad rates by 60% at a time of self-described declining circulation.

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I made the decision several weeks ago to clear some garbage out of my life. I stopped going to gossip websites (like People and PerezHilton) and I no longer allow my fingers to use the buttons on the remote to land on the E! Channel and the “music” networks. I already feel cleaner now that my mind has been scrubbed of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. I do know that Britney apparently flubbed her MTV performance last night, but that’s only because it was on the front of the Fox News website this morning. I’m glad they are covering the important stuff.

I also have started to get up in the morning before my husband and daughter for some precious quiet time. This means setting the alarm for 5:30am, but it’s worth rising before the sun to have those moments to myself (now if I could only convince myself to go to bed before midnight). I put on some classical music, prepare a hot cup of tea and settle in with my reading — a yearlong study about the women of the Bible (I’m reading about Sarah right now … you go on with your nation-building self, girl) and then The New York Times.

The first paragraphs of my tale come together with two stories that I found on the front page of The Times this morning. Above the fold, there is a heartbreaking story of people around the world who don’t have access to morphine because their governments are concerned about addiction and drug crimes. I learned about one woman whose tumor from her breast cancer has broken through the skin. She lives in constant agony. The article also relates information about children who receive no pain relief from burns and childhood diseases. How many of us can even imagine such a situation?

Below the fold, you can find a story about how the TV program Married with Children has been adapted for a Russian audience. The show is now the most popular viewing choice for that important 18-34 age group in the former (and possibly future?) Communist nation. Analysts believe that only recently has Russia become economically stable enough to be able to escape and enjoy the crude jokes about surburban discontent. One Russian critic opined,

“Today, people are becoming accustomed to not thinking about life. The television is training them to not think about which party is in Parliament, about which laws are being passed, about who will be in charge tomorrow. People have become accustomed to living like children …”

The accusation that we use entertainment to avoid interaction with reality is frighteningly true. I believe that we all need a break from work and politics and other stresses of life. Outlets such as movies and sports are great ways to find that opportunity to relax. I know that I am looking forward to the Terps’ big game against West Virginia on Thursday night. However, we have gotten to the point where celebrities and their fake world have completely supplanted our exposure to the real issues in the world. Britney Spears should NEVER be on the front page of a news website, unless she finds Osama bin Laden or cures cancer (so … never).

We should care and want to know more about the woman in Africa who is preparing to die in excruciating pain, not what Paris Hilton will write in her memoirs about her time in jail (can you write an entire book using only one- and two-syllable words?). For my part, I will continue to avoid the sickness of the celebrity culture and spend more time learning about the real people who inhabit this world.

One of the undesirable side effects of having the unequalled in wonderfulness job of being a mother is exposure to children’s programming.  I was never a big fan of cartoons when I was a kid, only watching the Saturday morning shows to see the “One to Grow On” and Menudo segments that came on just before the top of the hour. Now, I am learning about the new characters that have sprung onto the toddler landscape.

I have a problem with one feature I have noticed both in the classic Sesame Street and the new program likely created under the influence of hallucinogens called The Wonder Pets.  In both shows, there is a character who speaks with a pronounced speech impediment (Sesame Street features Little Bear and Wonder Pets has, I believe, a baby chick).  For these animals, “serious” becomes “see-we-us” and “bear” becomes “ba-wah”.

I suppose the intention of the shows’ creators is to allow children who struggle with speech impediments to hear others who sound like them and therefore know they aren’t alone (just as it makes sense to feature children of different races and backgrounds).  However, isn’t a primary purpose of these educational shows to teach children about proper language and diction?  Shouldn’t these puppets serve as an example for the kids to model?

I assume that children who have difficulty pronouncing certain sounds will be provided speech therapy in school.  Why continue to reinforce incorrect practices until that point?  I don’t let Catherine watch Wonder Pets anymore and I turn off the sound when Little Bear comes on Sesame Street.  I don’t want her to think that those words are correct as she learns sounds for the first time.

I don’t know who these Rick and Bubba people are, but I do not appreciate the fact that they have replaced Kevin Wall on WLAC in the morning

.  I thought that wacky DJ humor was reserved for morning shows on the FM side on the radio, with some slapstick squeezed between Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney.  I didn’t always agree with Kevin Wall, but I thought he was an informed host who did a good job with guests and listeners alike.  I enjoy quality coverage of local political issues, which is why I miss Mark Christopher … where I am going to get that now?  No, not from him.  Ummm … not him, either.

Even more upsetting than the dismissal of Kevin Wall is the replacement of Matt Drudge with a show called “Start Your Engines”.  Really?  Three hours of stimulating discussion focused on turning left at really high speeds.  Drudge’s sarcasm and great sound bites provided my sweet lullaby every Sunday night.  I cannot instead listen to tales about Junior’s problems following the rules of the track.

Now I have no reason to click on WLAC until 11:00am and I’ll shut it off at 2:00pm.  Even the scheduling wizards who are running WLAC won’t touch Rush Limbaugh.

Yesterday at the gym, I passed my time on the treadmill by watching a replay of Tuesday’s Metro Council meeting (not for the first time, as noted previously on this blog). Today’s coverage of the Beer Board hearings was not as enthralling, so I turned to The View for some exercise accompaniment.

The gals were chatting about a newly discovered diary by Ronald Reagan. After Joy Behar made the lovely quip that the pages must have been filled with cave drawings, she went on to mention an excerpt in which Reagan shows his anger at Ron Jr. for hanging up on him. President Reagan writes that he will not talk with his son again until he apologizes. Joy’s response was as follows:

“President Reagan is credited with ending the Cold War. I don’t know if that’s true or not. However, he would never have hung up on or refused to talk to Gorbachev. The Cold War would never have ended So, why would he refuse to talk to his son?”

Oh, Joy. Please allow me to remind you of a cold northern city called Reykjavik (yes, I had to look up that spelling). Reagan walked out of a meeting with Gorbachev … an in-your-face hang up … because Gorbachev insisted that Reagan give up the Star Wars program.

Reykjavik, Margaret Thatcher says, was the turning point in the Cold War. Finally Gorbachev realized that he had a choice: continue a no-win arms race, which would utterly cripple the Soviet economy, or give up the struggle for global hegemony, establish peaceful relations with the West, and work to enable the Soviet economy to become prosperous like the Western economies. After Reykjavik, Gorbachev seems to have resolved on this latter course.

Gorbachev wasn’t sacrificing a pawn, he was giving up his bishops and his queen. The INF treaty was in fact the first stage of Gorbachev’s surrender in the Cold War.

So, as it turns out, being firm and refusing to talk when principles were at stake did help bring about the end to the Cold War. I’ll expect a retraction on Monday’s show.

I love Roger Abramson’s perspective and the sarcastic wit with which (those three words look weird next to each other) he shares his views.  He is currently guest blogging at Bob Krumm’s site, and has a great post on Rob Huddleston’s decisive action that is certain to push Fred Thompson into the presidential race.

I’ll admit it: I was skeptical as to whether Fred Thompson would run for president. But now I’m convinced. I’ll bet he is too. After all, none other than Rob Huddleston has told him to. I mean, that’s like getting a mandate from God.

Here it is: “I freely admit it – I have sent a message through backchannels to my former boss (Thompson) encouraging his entry into this race.”

Wow. That’s our Rob, a real “kingmaker.” Since I am not the “insider” Rob is, I am left only to imagine the conversation that took place:

Check out the imaginary conversation here.  It’s great stuff!

On his program today, George Stephanopolous brought up the Biden speech snafu and said that, “He is definitely not a racist.”

Wow!  I didn’t know that the Ralph Macchio/Dick Clark of political journalism had the ability to read people’s hearts.  That could come in handy as we listen to all of the stump speeches over the next two years.  Maybe George will let us know if Senator Clinton really wants to have a chat with us.  Does John Edwards feel in his gut that there really are “two Americas”?  Does Dennis Kucinich actually lust for blood and destructive warfare in the recesses of his soul?

I wonder if Stephanopolous would have given the same pass to a politician from the other side of the aisle who made an identical comment.

Something screwy is going on with our DirectTV. I just put Catherine down for her nap and turned on the TV to get my daily C-Span fix. The wires must be crossed somehow, because C-Span is instead broadcasting the SciFi Channel — a classic episode of “Tales from the Darkside”. When I turned to the real SciFi station, I found that the screen has gone dark.

I find it quite amusing and appropriate that Congress has been supplanted by science fiction. Perhaps the secret alien invasion by the likes of Barney Frank, Maxine Waters and Dennis Kucinich (come on … he looks like would fit right in at a Star Trek convention) has finally moved to the next phase. We are now being fed their dramatized propaganda and soon the leader Zoltar will appear on the screen and let the earthlings know that socialized medicine, a 90% tax bracket for the wealthy and the melting of all weapons to make metal domiciles for the homeless are now the laws of the universe.

Several weeks ago, I called The Tennessean and cancelled our subscription with the last paper scheduled to come on February 28.  This decision was not based on any political grievances or the rumor that illegal immigrants are being used to paste each letter of the article individually onto the newsprint at a bargain price of 76 cents an hour.  I just didn’t feel the need to receive a paper that contained about five minutes’ worth of reading content.  Let’s take the “Local News” section as an example.  There are usually two pages of ”news” (and I use this term loosely because the stories tend to focus on a teenaged girl who discovers it feels better to give away her trendy jeans to the needy than to wear them herself or a flock of ducks who have found a new home on the playground of an elementary school), three pages of advertisements for furniture and carpets and two pages of obituaries.  I know that Nashville isn’t the biggest city in the world, but I think a little more journalistic digging could result in a meatier Metro section.

As requested, there was no Tennessean waiting for me on the morning of March 1.  But, its absence was short-lived as the paper returned on Sunday, March 4.  Despite a phone call from me earlier this week letting the Customer Service department know that I was still getting the paper, our daily driveway decoration continues to arrive. 

I even got a phone call from The Tennessean two days ago asking why I stopped getting the paper (ha, ha … they don’t know how wrong they are!) and wondering if I could be persuaded at least to get the Sunday edition.  What was the selling point made by the nice woman on the other end of my phone line?  Cutting out the coupons is fun!  When the biggest selling point of your news publication is the opportunity to cut out an offer for 35 cents off Heinz ketchup, there’s a serious problem.   

If anyone wants a free copy of the “Old Grey Lady of the South”, please feel free to swing by my hood in the morning and grab it from my driveway.  Just make sure to leave the coupons on Sundays because someday I am going to order those knit slacks for $5.00 each (get one in every color!) and a pair of the velcro sandals that are guaranteed to help your circulation.