Hidden meanings: I’ve taken some shots at Mike Huckabee, and I’ll probably continue, but I’ll also give him credit when it’s due. And his use of humor – to deflect the ‘faux controversy’ of his Christmas message – is part of the appeal that’s drawing people to his campaign. Although the twenty-somethings are probably asking “What does he mean by ‘Paul is dead’? Paul who?” Anyway ...
Bill and Hill: I got a couple of negative comments e-mailed to me awhile back when I referred to the “Bill and Hill Show”. Now – I’m glad to see that I’m not the only one who has noticed.
I love Candy Crowley’s use of language to suggest imagery – and she was on top of the game last night with her “two Magics trekking through Iowa” description:
I’m so glad Carl Bernstein is at CNN – although he does need to shorten his ‘sound bytes’. I’m not surprised at what he talked about – i.e.- the subtle ‘erosion’ of the finely-tuned Clinton campaign machinery – but I am surprised that he said it. I’d expect that kind of commentary would have first been broached by a Republican strategist – which convinces me to applaud Mr. Bernstein’s candor even more.
But in the larger sense – Bill Clinton’s continuing immersion into Hillary’s campaign is providing more ammunition for the Republican Party. If the Senator does end up with the nomination, the subliminal (albeit denied) message from the right will be: “Do you want another eight years of Bill Clinton at the helm?”
Stage Manager Kevin: I felt kind of bad for him last night after his ‘announcer audition’. He actually does have what I would certainly consider to be a very deep, commanding voice – not James Earl Jones, mind you – but he’s probably more valuable to the program in his current capacity. Keep up the great work, Kevin – all of the “Gunmetal Grey” team appreciates you even more!! :-)
Pork spending: Ah yes – according to the report from Joe Johns - technically, Congress is publicly announcing the earmarks being voted on before its Christmas recess. All 9,000 of them – buried in a 3,500 page spending bill – worth over $500,000,000,000 – now that’s a LOT of zeroes!! Steve Ellis from Taxpayers for Common Sense stated in the segment: “This is a ridiculous way to run the government. And, you know, we were in this exact same position last year. There's going to be errors and there's going to be buried treasure that we are not going to know about until much later and after Congress is already having their holiday punch.” We’ll see how voters respond this coming November.
And CONGRATULATIONS to Drew Griffin for his Business & Financial Reporting Emmy win! Drew was the best investigative reporter in Los Angeles, and I’m very glad that his skills are now being utilized on a national level!
Shawshank Redemption – the sequel: Jason Carroll had a report about two inmates, Jose Espinoza and Otis Blunt, who seemingly used some ‘tricks’ from the movie to escape from the jail in Union County, New Jersey, this past Saturday. Hopefully they’ll both be captured soon – since Espinoza was serving time for manslaughter and Blunt was facing bribery and weapons charges.
Hindu Kush Ambush: I’m only going to comment a bit here, because I think I want to write about the war in Afghanistan on another day, in a totally separate sentry. I think the ‘Forgotten War’ deserves that level of attention. With that said, I, too, was very glad to see the segment last night on what's happening in Afghanistan. It bothered me, of course, that Nic Robertson kept referring to the squadron's 'lightly armored' vehicle. Not that he shouldn’t have reported it, of course, but I was very aggravated to hear that the military’s equipment was sub-standard to even begin with. I mean, come on - this isn't a vehicle that’s limited to 'tooling around' the French countryside - it's in Afghanistan and there's a WAR going on!! :-(
Bloated Bonuses: This subject really doesn’t deserve any space on this blog, as it so infuriatingly highlights part of the reason for the economic polarization of American society, but I wanted use it to comment about the fact that I like Ali Velshi - because he seems so straightforward with what he says. He always knows the right mix of keeping enough humor and reality in financial reporting to prevent it from becoming a snooze-fest, yet doesn’t go overboard to the extent that he almost becomes a caricature of himself. Unlike certain financial ‘gurus’ at other cable business channels ...
“MJ”: There are a few occasional moments when I feel sorry for Michael Jackson. Not many – because he has brought many of his troubles upon himself – but last night was one of them. Seeing the picture below almost makes me want to say “Michael – please come back and join the human race – it’ll be OK – really it will.”
Some side notes:
Vladimir Putin has been named Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year”. The runner-up? Al Gore. Just a little irony there, don’t you think?
And get ready to toss out your incandescent light bulbs – only CFL’s will be available in the US after 2012.
Christmas is just one week away – unbelievable!! I hope you’re at least close to being ready! This coming year will be memorable – I can tell already!
Thanks very much for visiting – updates posted as needed – have a terrific evening!
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