Tag: president

Who Is Missing?

Tonight, they ran the graphic pictured above, promoting their coverage. Where are Obama and Clinton? Aren’t they what the debate is all about?

debate-still.jpgI have been following the 2008 presidential campaign with a great deal of interest. Obviously, the Republican side is all but decided.

The Democrats, living up to Will Roger’s expectations&#185, are still fighting it out. At the moment, that’s a figurative expression, but it could become literal!

Tuesday night is the last of the internecine Democratic debates, this time in Cleveland. It will be carried by MSNBC.

Tonight, they ran the graphic pictured above, promoting their coverage. Where are Obama and Clinton? Aren’t they what the debate is all about?

Far be it for me to criticize “hey look at me” journalism. Still, we’re electing a president. Maybe for this one night, the four horsemen could take a back seat?

By the way, I originally saw this graphic with just Brian Williams and Tim Russert. I wonder if there’s any backstory with the addition of Olbermann and Matthews?

&#185 – Back in the mid-1930s, humorist, writer, movie star Will Rogers wrote, “I don’t belong to any organized party. I’m a Democrat.”

If The Democrats No Longer Need Lieberman

So, what happens if the Democrats sweep the House, Senate and elect a president? It’s certainly not out of the question. I think the loser is Lieberman and by proxy, Connecticut.

I suspect we’re about to face an interesting political dilemma in Connecticut.

Right now, the Democrats control both branches of Congress. The majority in the Senate is razor thin. Democrats control by two, but only if you include Senate independents, Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

Though he ran against, and beat, the endorsed Democratic candidate in the last election, Lieberman enjoys the benefits of the Democratic majority. From his own website:

In 2006, Senator Lieberman was elected to a fourth term as an Independent, because of the strength of his record and his accomplishments for the state. He won the general election by more than 100,000 votes. He remains committed to caucusing with Senate Democrats, but will be identified as an Independent Democrat (ID-CT).

That last sentence was written before Senator Lieberman endorsed Republican Senator John McCain’s Republican bid for president. That followed two years where Lieberman sided with the president (and against the Democrats) on many issues, including Iraq and National intelligence.

So, what happens if the Democrats sweep the House, Senate and elect a president? It’s certainly not out of the question. I think the loser is Lieberman and by proxy, Connecticut.

Why would the Democrats keep Lieberman in a position of power while their own loyal members wait? I don’t think they will.

  • Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
  • Member of the Armed Services Committee
  • Member of the Environment and Public Works Committee
  • Member of the Senate Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee

This is really all academic. Whatever happens will play out behind closed doors and without consulting the people of Connecticut. We’ll only feel its effect in Lieberman’s reduced power… though it’s tough to quantify that power right now.

This is one of those unintended consequences no one anticipates.

The Democratic Debate

The Democratic race for the president has become quite exciting to watch. Members of the same party are supposed to play nice. Senators Clinton and Obama are playing rough.

I just got off the phone with Helaine. “Please set the DVR for the Democratic debate.” I asked. This one appearance has become ‘must see TV!’ I’ve never recorded a debate before.

The Democratic race for the president has become quite exciting to watch. Members of the same party are supposed to play nice. Senators Clinton and Obama are playing rough.

It is quite possible this one debate tonight will decide the Democratic nominee.

The candidates need to be careful. One could win this battle and set himself/herself up to lose the war.

In a pissing match, everyone gets wet.

If A Tree Falls In The Woods…

A few hours ago, Congressman Tom Tancredo (He’s from Colorado, but I didn’t know until I read it) pulled out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination. He was, to be kind, not a major factor. That’s why this headline from 23/6 is so good.

Tancredo Apparently Running For President Until This Afternoon

Sedaka At The Shubert

Helaine and I went to see Neil Sedaka at the Shubert Theater in New Haven last night. In order to do the evening justice, let me split it into two – fund raising and performance.

The purpose of the night was to raise money for the St. Raphael Foundation and the Hospital of St. Raphael.

There are two hospitals in New Haven. Even with 511 beds, St. Raphael is the smaller. It’s certainly the less glamorous. I was glad to help.

As is often the case, a benefit like this dangles ‘fun’ as the spoonful of sugar which makes the giving easier. It’s a technique that works. The Shubert was mostly full, and a pre-show reception, a separate ticket from the main event, drew well too.

The goal of this night, to raise money for the hospital and its programs, was a success. Everything else is peripheral.

My job was to act as master of ceremonies.

At 7:45, I joined a group of people including the hospital’s president and the sister who runs the foundation, and went backstage. At 8:00 o’clock we walked in front of the curtain and I began to do whatever it is I do. The response was very good, but time was of the essence. I edited as I went along.

I can’t imagine anyone’s crying because I didn’t do more material.

By the way, if you’re worried about speaking before crowds, you should know in situations like this it’s nearly impossible to see the audience! You’re on a lit stage. They’re in darkness. On top of that, the spotlights leave you blind.

A few folks from the hospital/foundation spoke, then I introduced Neil Sedaka… or actually, I said the show would begin in a few minutes.

I would like to have said “Neil Sedaka” and had the show begin right there. It never does.

The Sedaka show starts with a five minute video retrospective. It’s other artists singing Neil Sedaka’s songs. There are a lot of those… and a lot of diverse artists. This guy is prolific and his writing style versatile.

As the video ended, the band began to play and on walked Neil Sedaka. He is shorter than I expected. Older too.

The band consisted of a keyboard player, guitar, drums, sax and girl singer, plus Neil Sedaka himself, playing piano/keyboards.

He can still sing. That was obvious within the first few seconds. His vocal pitch was always high. It still is.

There were songs I remember where he trilled his voice to a quick falsetto on the original recording. No more. Adults just can’t do that. Ask Frankie Valli! But mostly, there was little, if any, transposing and he sang the full range he had as a kid and staying totally on key.

Everything seemed recognizable and plenty of people sang along or clapped along as he played the hits. I certainly did.

After a few minutes, I began to think, “The sound’s a little thin.” It wasn’t Sedaka who was lacking. It was the band.

The songs called for more vocal backing – more additional voices than one. The sound was also missing the strings, tympanies and other non-traditional rock instruments that gave the originals more feel.

Could have been accomplished electronically? I don’t know.

Here’s an example. In Sedaka’s “Stairway to Heaven,” he sings: “I’ll build a stairway to heaven, ’cause heaven is where you are.” It’s followed by a kettle drum of some sort which changes pitch after being stuck. That is an integral part of the song. I felt cheated when it wasn’t there.

Maybe it’s the large venue and stage which cried out for more than a combo? Whatever it was, I wish he had more players with him.

Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed the show. I just wish there would have been a fuller sound.

It was a night I really enjoyed and a good cause which was well served!

After the show, we headed to a little mezzanine for dessert. Neil Sedaka showed up a few minutes later. A few people took our picture, and I’m looking forward to getting those files.

After all was said and done, I got lots of thanks from the organizers. It wasn’t necessary to thank me. That’s what I said and I wasn’t joking.

I’m a firm believer in using whatever notoriety I have for the common good. Whatever they got from me, I got back more in satisfaction. I’m glad I could help.

The Most Powerful Movie I’ve Ever Seen

Dear Helaine and Stef,

I could have written emails to you or maybe woken you up, but I know you check the blog, so pardon my posting this personal correspondence for everyone to see.

I decided to see SiCKO last night. It was a cure for boredom, no more. But it turned out to be the most powerful movie I’ve ever seen. Really.

Michael Moore is a showman, I understand that. Some of what was in the movie was there for effect. I can’t imagine his Cuban experiences match those of the average Cuban.

Unfortunately, most of the movie was painful to watch, because it was the truth. I am embarrassed for what we’ve become. I’m embarrassed for what we allow to happen.

Stef, I know you need to see this movie for school. But you should see it sooner, rather than later.

Helaine, I understand you don’t want to see the movie at all. I understand why. You need to see it anyway. It’s that important.

Maybe I’m a sap, buying into Moore’s propaganda. Maybe I’m naive. It would be nice to think the picture he painted doesn’t reflect real life.

I was turned off to universal health care when Hillary Clinton ran the study group while her husband was president. I confused my personal distaste for her (some of which is still there, though not as stridently) with an evil plan that would hurt us all.

I was wrong. Very wrong (About healthcare. Mrs. Clinton… we’ll save that for another day).

There has to be a better way than what we have now. It’s difficult to believe there’s a worse way.

Love,

Geoff/Dad/Greggy

How We Change Our Mind

This is actually related to my last entry. In it, I pointed out how, early Wednesday morning, the NWS changed their forecast thinking radically over the course of an hour or so.

I don’t mean to pick on NWS. Their forecasts are normally excellent. It would be unfair to judge them based on a single forecast.

I have been through the same angst they experienced, but my forecasts aren’t as well documented. That’s why they’re being used as my example – convenience, nothing more.

How do we change our minds? In most cases, change in thought comes gradually, but there’s usually a tipping point when you go from one way of thinking to the other. That point is not, as you might think, simply where evidence on one side outweighs evidence on the other.

My first experience with this was in the 60s, with the Vietnam War. I was, as were most, a supporter of that war in its earlier days&#185.

I remember doing a term paper on Vietnam for a class. I sat in the Jamaica Public Library and tried to balance arguments. I couldn’t. The preponderance of what I read made me think we shouldn’t be there.

I rode the Q17 bus home feeling conflicted. It was a significant enough episode to remember 40 years later. Yet, even in the face of that evidence and deep contemplative thought, I continued to support the war.

I did later change my mind, probably sometime in ’67 or ’68, and became fervently anti-Vietnam. My realignment came long after the my internal balance of evidence had shifted. Looking back, I’m sorry I waited so long.

Isn’t that strange? Even when my better judgment should have pointed me one way, my earlier decisions made it much more difficult.

My suspicions say that’s what happened last night at the Weather Service. I wasn’t there, but I’ve been through many similar forecast decisions. What you’ve called for isn’t going to happen… and yet you don’t want to let go of the forecast.

Is it an ego thing? Is there a worry the mere act of having been wrong is a blemish to be avoided?

Flip flopping was portrayed as a weakness when John Kerry ran for president. Is it possible having the ability to easily flip flop is really a positive trait?

Making that second decision… overruling your first call… is the weightier of the two processes. It takes much more evidence to change an opinion than to form a similar opinion in the abstract.

I’m not sure what’s to be learned from this, except to say it seems better to make these radical shifts in opinion sooner, rather than later. That’s much easier said than done.

&#185 – Actually, in its earliest days, American involvement in Vietnam was so small and obscure, few realized we were there and even fewer cared.

Charles Lane – Trust Me, You’ll Know Him By Sight

As character actors go, he had quite a career. He was always the stiff, stern company man or governmental hack – the guy who had a ready “no” for anything you needed.

Charles Lane’s resume on IMDB is as long as your arm. There are 300+ entries, many of them for multiple appearances on the same TV series. On Bewitched alone he was Mr. Roland, Mr. Cushman, Mr. Jameson, Mr. Harmon and Mr. Mr. Meikeljohn.

Like most character actors, he wasn’t well known by name. If you’re too well known, your value as a ‘character’ diminishes. The ratio of those who knew him to those who knew his name had to be 100:1, maybe more.

From the LA Times: “His roles were so numerous that he told TV Guide in 1965 that he would occasionally see himself in movies on TV and have no memory of having played that role.”

I most remember Charles Lane as Homer Bedloe, president of the railroad (the CF&RW) that employed Floyd and Charlie and ran the Cannonball between Hooterville and Pixley with that stop at Petticoat Junction’s “Shady Rest Hotel.”

Mr. Bedloe was out to get Kate Bradley, while Kate’s Uncle Joe tried to get Bedloe. Kate was always victorious. By definition, everyone on Petticoat Junction prevailed against Uncle Joe! Homer Bedloe never got more than a Pyrrhic victory.

It wasn’t until I read about him in Wikipedia and saw his ‘original’ name (Charles Gerstle Levison) that I realized he was Jewish. They had Jews in San Fransisco in 1905? Who knew?

Charles Lane was 102 when he died on Monday in Southern California. He was one of my all-time favorite mean people.

A documentary on his life is in production. I’d like to see “You Know the Face” when it’s released. Meanwhile, the clip below is from Nickelodeon on the occasion of his 100th birthday.

Break In At Obama’s Place

Drudge has it on his front page, though pretty far down the left side. The AP wrote it up nicely. A bit of trouble Friday night at Obama Headquarters in Iowa.

(AP) DAVENPORT, Iowa The Davenport, Iowa, campaign headquarters for presidential candidate Barack Obama was burglarized Friday evening.

Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor says two laptop computers and some campaign literature were taken. A campaign worker discovered the burglary this morning, and a report was filed with Davenport police.

Vietor says that it doesn’t appear that it was anything sensitive or irreplaceable was taken.

Hmmm…. where have I heard this before? Here’s the opening ‘graph’ of a story from the New York Times, June 17, 1972.

WASHINGTON, June 17 — Five men, said to have been carrying cameras, electronic surveillance equipment and burglary tools, were arrested shortly after 2 A.M. today after a floor-by-floor search that led to the executive quarters of the National Democratic Committee here.

Here’s a copy of the actual story that ran on page 30 in the Times and the text of the story that was on the front page of the Washington Post. Remember, we knew nothing else except there was a burglary in Larry O’Brien’s office at the Watergate (The image of the front page on the left is from two days later, June 19, 1972).

I doubt last night’s burglary was anything more than a burglary. The stolen laptops were probably the target.

On the other hand, Watergate also seemed like a meaningless burglary. Nixon was way ahead at the polls. He would end up winning the presidential election with 60% of the popular vote and nearly 97% of the Electoral College.

Why would CREEP (Committee to Re-Elect the President) even care what O’Brien did or did not know?

Just for a second, let’s make believe there was something politically evil going on Friday night in Iowa. Are there still Woodwards and Bernsteins in journalism? Are there Ben Bradlees and Katherine Grahams who would allow reporters to spend days and days pursuing leads which probably weren’t going to pan out? Few thought Watergate would be anything more than the 2-bit burglary it was.

I’m afraid I know the answer.

Corporate journalism, where publishers (and TV managers) answer to stockholders, not individual owners and where the cost of debt service has entered into the daily decision making process, has changed journalism in profound ways.

If 1972 happened in 2007, how much would we know?

Computers Can’t Be Trusted

“Computer problem.” I’ve heard those two words a million times. Mostly, it’s a crock. Computer problems aren’t usually computer problems but problems which appear when humans operate computers. In other words, it’s mostly human error.

Computers only do what they’re told. Hardware failures that allow them to run amok are relatively rare. It’s that fingertip/keyboard interface where all the trouble arises.

With that perspective, it’s off to Chicago where, earlier this week, WGN radio found itself broadcast all over the radio and TV dial. I was tipped off to this story by Adam Chernow in Wisconsin, but I’ll quote the Chicago Tribune:

In the parlance of the Cold War era that spawned the federally mandated Emergency Alert System, launch codes were issued throughout Illinois on Tuesday morning, automatically pre-empting dozens of radio and television stations as if the region faced nuclear annihilation.

Rather than President Bush reassuring citizens after an atomic blast or some other calamity, the audience of many Chicago outlets was treated to the sound of dead air followed by the voice of WGN-AM 720 morning man Spike O’Dell struggling to figure out what had happened.

It turns out O’Dell’s pair of brief surprise appearances between 7:30 a.m. and 8 a.m. on everything from local public broadcasting to music stations — an “unintentional disruption,” a Federal Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman called it — stemmed from a FEMA contractor’s installation of the state’s Emergency Alert System satellite receiver in Springfield as part of a nationwide upgrade.

If the contractor had asked me to call all those stations, I would have pointed out the error of his ways. Computers are more obedient and, unfortunately, don’t question authority!

Why do we do this? Why do we allow an automated system take control so an errant human can cause chaos?

I know why. I was there the morning the old system failed!

It was February 20, 1971. As I remember, it was a sunny and mild winter’s day. I was working as a disk jockey at WQXT, located right on the ocean in Palm Beach, Florida. Life was good.

At 9:33 AM a series of ten bells rang out from the Associated Press teletype. Ten bells was the signature for a national emergency, an EBS alert… but this was Saturday at 9:33 AM. They tested the system every Saturday at 9:33 AM.

Somewhere deep within Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado, a technician put the wrong put tape in his teletype. Instead of sending the test, he sent the real thing!

From Wikipedia: An EBS activation message authenticated with the codeword “HATEFULNESS” was sent through the entire system, ordering stations to shut down and broadcast the alert of a national emergency. A cancellation message with the wrong codeword was sent at 9:59 AM EST, and a cancellation message with the correct codeword was not sent until 10:13AM EST.

Most radio and TV stations did nothing! They had no way of knowing the message was wrong. In fact, every indication was it was real.

In my case, I heard the bells and disregarded them. It was test time. I heard those bells every Saturday morning.

By the time I looked at the teletype, the alert had been corrected. The few people listening to my little radio station were well served because I totally screwed up!

After that debacle the government worked to change to a better, faster, more streamlined, heavily automated system. And yet, with this week’s problem, the cause was exactly the same – human error.

It’s this automated system that has sometimes allowed cable companies to cut my television station’s audio as they run emergency crawls… even though we’re giving emergency info when they kill our audio!

Society has become so complex, we can’t operate without computer assistance. Unfortunately, that has forced us to put much too much power in someone’s fingertip. The folks in Chicago understand.

Just Call Me Geoff

Over time, more and more people have taken to calling me Mr. Fox. It’s a little disturbing, because I don’t want to be that old.

I usually tell them, “My name is Geoff. Mr Fox lives in a condo in Florida.”

Of course Mr. is the least of the titles you can have with your name. You could be Dr., or Rev., or Senator, or… well the list is nearly endless.

A few years ago, while perusing the British Airways website I came across their choice of titles. I saw the list cited today on another website and thought I’d post it here – just for fun.

Some are so obscure, I have no idea what they could possibly be. I do know, few holders of these titles will ever be flying with me in Row 39, aft of the wing.

Click the list and choose a title. They’re free.

Michael Bloomberg… Really?

It’s been fascinating to follow the speculation over the last few days as New York City’s Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, switched from Republican to Independent. Is he thinking of running for president?

Though Bloomberg has said “no,” the speculation persists. The 24 hour news cycle must be fed. Even I’m not above speculating (and it’s not like I had to write about this… I could have told you about the two suits I bought today).

Bloomberg is an interesting guy. A self made billionaire, he still rides the subway to work. When he goes away for the weekend, taking his own jet to his own hideaway, he tells the press where he’s going and what he’s doing is none of their business. He’s a bachelor&#185. He’s Jewish.

If Mitt Romney’s religious affiliation has been a concern, how can Bloomberg’s not be? I’m Jewish and I’m surprised there hasn’t been any discussion of his religion.

There’s no doubt New York has flourished under Bloomberg. He speaks freely, which New Yorkers appreciate. He is not a fence straddler.

He is the guy, who after a plot to bomb Kennedy Airport was unveiled, said:

“There are lots of threats to you in the world. There

Quelle Heure Est Il?

It’s one of the few remembrances of my ill fated bout with French 1: “Quelle heure est il?” What time is it?

The answer has always been simple, but will now become painstakingly difficult with the new and improved switch to Daylight Saving Time&#185, coming this weekend.

From the NIST website: The current Daylight Saving Time rules represent a change from the past. On August 8, 2005, President Bush signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which included the changes in Daylight Saving Time described above, effective March 1, 2007. Prior to 2007, DST began at 2:00 a.m. (local time) on the first Sunday in April, and ended at 2:00 a.m. (local time) on the last Sunday in October. The new rules for DST beginning in 2007 mean an extra four or five weeks of DST each year. There will now be a total of 238 days of DST, compared to a total of 210 days of DST in 2006 under the previous rules. Daylight Saving Time and time zones are regulated by the U. S. Department of Transportation, and not by NIST.

Notice how NIST (National Institute for Standards and Technology) is desperately trying to distance itself from this debacle to come!

What will happen this weekend is much of what was feared for Y2K. I don’t expect planes to crash into mountains, but I do expect all sorts of small to moderate problems with everything from banks to clocks and watches to VCRs to alarm systems.

Yes, it will be a pain-in-the-ass to reset all my watches and the clocks that are now on everything electronic. The bigger problem will be reseting the items that are already programmed to set themselves later in the year.

I have one watch that just might be incapable of finding the right time! A website, associated with the vendor, says it should be OK. Unfortunately, the watch sets itself automatically off a low frequency radio station… a station it hears every once in a while.

How some computers are reset will make a big difference, because underlying our individual time zones are UTC, or Universal Coordinated Time (the order is screwy because the acronym is based on the original French).

If you look at the inner workings of email, you’ll see times are referenced in UTC plus or minus a variable. Lots of the Internet and international commerce in general, works that way.

Delivery-date: Mon, 05 Mar 2007 06:39:42 -0600

Received: from geofffo by longmont.hostforweb.net with local (Exim 4.63)

(envelope-from )

id 1HOCTe-0001BC-7d

for me@geofffox.com; Mon, 05 Mar 2007 06:39:42 -0600

My mailserver, in Chicago, is -0600. My home computer, here in Connecticut, is -0500. They understand a common time by using those offsets.

Unfortunately, lots of people will just reset their computer’s internal clock, throwing the mutually understood coordinated time off. The computer will still think it’s 5 or 6 or whatever hours off UTC, while it’s actually not!

I’m not sure how that will throw things into a tizzy – but it will.

At work, though my computers are on Eastern Time, everything we do is really done in UTC. All weather info around the world is UTC. Going to Daylight Saving Time means all my data will arrive an hour later. All the forecast guidance, all my computer generated help, will now be delayed.

I have a list of instructions that I have to follow to get each computer on the same page. I’m dreading that. Nothing digital ever works perfectly the first time.

Maybe I should just start with my watches now too?

This story will unfold this week. The bigger it is splashed, the smaller the problem will be. If this entry is the last you hear about it until the weekend, we’re in deep trouble.

&#185 – It is Daylight Saving, not Savings, Time.

Global Warming Backlash

Following his Oscar win for An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore has become a pretty large target by some global warming skeptics. Here’s what ABC News reported earlier today.

Armed with Gore’s utility bills for the last two years, the Tennessee Center for Policy Research charged Monday that the gas and electric bills for the former vice president’s 20-room home and pool house devoured nearly 221,000 kilowatt-hours in 2006, more than 20 times the national average of 10,656 kilowatt-hours.

“If this were any other person with $30,000-a-year in utility bills, I wouldn’t care,” says the Center’s 27-year-old president, Drew Johnson. “But he tells other people how to live and he’s not following his own rules.”

This isn’t a new tactic. Laurie David, wife of Larry David and green activist, was singled out after she called for environmental restraint while flying coast-to-coast by private jet!

I’m not a big fan of making examples of individuals. We all have feet of clay. Still, there is some food for thought here.

I drive an SUV. I live in a fairly large house. Am I going to have to hide that in the future? Do I get a pass for having a short drive to work?

As I’ve made clear here, I am very skeptical of dire predictions of large scale human induced climate change. I really don’t want to change my life if there will be no benefit. I certainly don’t want to cripple our nation’s industrial base.

Meanwhile, in order to maintain credibility, the loudest voices will have to walk the walk as they talk the talk.

Abe Lincoln – Wired

I often listen to NPR while taking my shower. Today, on Talk of the Nation, Neil Conan spoke with Tom Wheeler who had an op-ed piece in this morning’s Washington Post and who also wrote the book, “Mr. Lincoln’s T-Mails: The Untold Story of How Abraham Lincoln Used the Telegraph to Win the Civil War.”

(I)nsight into our greatest president is possible through the nearly 1,000 messages he sent via the new telegraph technology. These 19th-century versions of e-mail messages preserve his spur-of-the-moment thoughts and are the closest we will come to a transcript of a conversation with Abraham Lincoln. In their unstructured form, Lincoln comes alive.

Are you kidding? Lincoln was our first president to communicate electronically. I guess he really was the Great Communicator.

This made Abraham Lincoln our first president with instant access to information. Imagine how that benefited him as he formulated our political and military strategy during the Civil War?

You owe it to yourself to read the op-ed column.

Oh, and Happy Birthday Abe.

Continue reading “Abe Lincoln – Wired”