One Day in Tucson

What happened Saturday morning in Tucson, AZ is exactly what I've feared in today's political spectrum. Granted, there is no implication that Jared Lee Loughner was motivated by anything in the media, but you wouldn't assume that from MSNBC and Fox News' coverage of the shooting. A Democratic congresswoman in a predomantly Republican state is wounded --almost declared dead, even-- and instead of joining together to mourn and reflect the partisan sniping is just as loud as its ever been.

In the wake of the shooting, Andrew Sullivan posted this blog entry. The implication of violence is blunt, though former Gov. Palin announced a day later that the crosshair metaphor weren't intended to provoke harm upon her political rivals. I may not agree with Palin's views, and she seemed as geniunely appalled by the shootings as anyone else, but I hope she uses less incediary language in the future. I'm sure Sully and Grizzly Mama would agree: acts of violence against elected political figures destroy democracy itself, regardless of affiliation.

As for my original point: naturally, partisan pundits and other assorted talking heads are saying the massacre was politically motivated. Simply put, what I declared in regard to the Holocaust Museum shooting two years ago still applies now: hatred has no political affiliation. The man (boy?) that wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and cruelly gunned down six others was a deranged loner, an anti-Semetic wannabe demagogue intent on wiping out "the Jew problem." This is not conservatives picking off liberals or the left playing crybaby on the right; it was one man with one gun and a vague, wholly demented understanding of how the world really works.

On top of that, crazy begats more insanity; it was only a matter of time before the hate-mongerers at Westboro Baptist "Church" announced that they will picket the funeral of the shootings' youngest victim. Their relentlessness is confounding, as is the tasteless attitude of nearly every attention whore scrambling to get their five minutes' time on the cable news outlets. Jon Stewart put it best: I wish we could pin the blame on something tangential, but we can't, so we finger whoever and whatever we normally would oppose. That might be the biggest tragedy of all.

Other notes:

+ It didn't occur to me until after I posted my blog last week that 289 is 17 squared. For more on my "obsession" with the prime number, click here for a "memorable" blog from September 2008.

+ In early December, I was discussing literature with an IO classmate and she chided me for reading mostly magazines. It dawned on me that I hadn't read a novel cover-to-cover all year, and she was right to point out this hiccup. Over the summer, I had tried to read The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen, but I couldn't get into it and gave up by page 75. Shortly after that conversation, I stopped at my local library and checked out The Wapshot Chronicle by John Cheever, which I read at my temp job during breaks or whenever the phones died down. I finished the book by December 30th, and after a quick breather I'm now in the early stages of reading The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow.

+ We took advantage of a division that was weaker than the experts projected, our offensive line is still pretty shaky, we're playing a losing team that spanked our asses three months ago, and I'm still convinced that Lovie Smith isn't all that, but... GO BEARS!!!

Random Notes, July 2010

+ I can't remember a baseball season that's been as fun to watch as 2010 (so far, anyway). Maybe that's because I'm a sucker for pitching duels and low-scoring ballgames. Two and a half years since Barry Bonds' forced retirement put an unofficial kibosh on the steroid era, defense and fundamentals are what's hot while one-dimensional power hitting has gone on the wayside. With all due respect to Josh Hamilton and Joey Votto, this year's MVPs will likely be pitchers; Ubaldo Jimenez could throw his arm out against the AL All-Stars tonight and he'd still be the class of the Senior Circuit. Over in the AL, I'd make a case for David Price or Jered Weaver over Hamilton or Miguel Cabrera. Even my Royals were making great strides... you know, until we were spanked by the first-place White Sox last weekend.

+ The regular baseball season is more than halfway over, and so is roto baseball. My TV.com roster is still in seventh place out of eight, lacking extra-base hits and consistency, not to mention any legitimate excuses. My "other" team on Yahoo has been fluctuating somewhat, bouncing between second and sixth place in a cutthroat league while maintaining a healthy .550 winning percentage. Though I was quite bullish on Pablo Sandoval at the beginning of the season, his 6/34/.263 midseason clip was bringing down both of my squads, so I dropped him. Here's hoping Scott Rolen and Jose Bautista drive in the runs that I so badly need.

+ I'm not sure about you guys, but for me New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner will be forever intertwined in my memory with George's demanding, seldom-seen employer on "Seinfeld." Let's look back at a private moment in the life of a man they called "The Boss."

+ Over on the political scene, it looks like former Speaker Newt Gingrich will throw his hat in the ring for the 2012 presidential race. A recent convert to Catholicism, the native Georgian is an apparent early favorite in one crucial demographic of the GOP, the Christian conservative. On top of that, Newt's possible entry spotlights a portion of the party that hasn't garnered much media attention these past few years: the cluster that doesn't follow former Gov. Sarah Palin around like a flock of sheep. This basically implies that Gingrich not only has a bone to pick with President Obama's policies but he won't drink Palin's Tea Party Kool-Aid, either. Of course, the 2012 presidental election is still 28 months away; fellow theocrat Mike Huckabee could easily jump in and give ol' Newt a run for the money, and in spite of his age Ron Paul could run on a near-identical platform as Palin and stomp on her inexperience. Plus, where would Haley Barbour and Mitt Romney fit into all this? The vast number of scenarios is headache-inducing.

+ Meanwhile in improv, on Friday I'll be signing up for my second conservatory audition --and third overall-- at Second City. (The audition is not until July 30th, but please wish me luck.) Meanwhile, at iO I'm frequently taking advantage of something they don't usually have at SC: free student admission to shows. It's a great way to learn the Harold technique, which is a special type of long-form improv that I'm learning in class, and it's an incentive to spend extra time in the city.

+ Finally, the 2010 World Cup of Soccer ended last Sunday with Spain defeating Holland in extra time. I miss the sound of vuvuzelas so much, yesterday I taped a beehive around my head. ;)

Author! Author!

"A writer uses a pen instead of a scalpel or blowtorch." -Michael Ondaatje

2009 is proving to be a strange year for autobiographies and tell-all memoirs. Why are media figures with tarnished public images so quick to enter the literary world? Maybe it's intended to be a scam. My theory is these quickie tomes are a facade so that the "authors" can go on the press junket; this way, they can write 400 pages of gibberish fully knowing nobody will buy, much less read the book. In writing this rant, the three books that come to mind are Mackenzie Phillips' High on Arrival, Gov. Sarah Palin's Going Rogue, and Gov. Rod Blagojevich's The Governor. I can't really say I've read any of these books --just a few excerpts that were leaked to the media-- so I'm not really at liberty to critique the memoirs themselves. Nevertheless, it's hard to ignore the smoke and mirrors.

From what I've read about The Governor, Blago continues to dish out the same empty rhetoric that made him an accidental media darling late last year. He takes his critics to task, vilifies everyone from Rev. Jesse Jackson to his own father-in-law, but never quite explains his accusations and what he is innocent of. Why this man keeps persevering is baffling. Bonnie Hunt (of all people) nailed it on the head when she interviewed Blago six weeks ago: if he claims to be innocent, why is no one coming to his defense? Why is he hiding the evidence that allegedly acquits him?

It's hard to say anything critical of Going Rogue without exposing a political bias. My only real question is how much of the book wasn't ghost-written; a co-author is not credited, though one must wonder how Palin wrote her autobiography so quickly. Reviews on Amazon.com have been mixed, which is odd considering that Rogue won't be in bookstores until November 17th and (as far I know) no advance copies have been released yet. On that note, I still think murmurs of a "vast left-wing conspiracy" trying to stifle Palin is a bunch of hooey. The McCain/Palin ticket lost last year because the GOP couldn't convincingly appeal themselves to moderates. Where Sen. McCain had a sliver of crossover appeal, Gov. Palin has both feet firmly planted in the conservative corner, take it or leave it. Regardless of its merits, conservatives will probably love the book and liberals and moderates will be apathetic. It's almost predestined.

Of the three big-name tell-alls released this year, Phillips' book probably has by far the thickest layer of slime. Why would she accuse her father of rape and molestation eight years after he died? John Phillips was well known in Hollywood circles for his debauchary and hard living so there's little reason of a doubt, but why call him out now when he obviously can't defend himself? In spite of any potential merits, High on Arrival has set a disturbing new plateau for celebrity memoirs; nobody will bat an eyelash at another washed-up TV actor's musings unless there's incest and preteen drug use involved. One can only hope that this is the sleazy autobiography that ends an entire subgenre of self-aggrandizing, profit-fueled bile.

Other notes:

+ I don't really recall where I was when the Berlin Wall fell. I was only five at the time, and I didn't have the attention span for watching the 5 o'clock news, so I probably learned about it several months after the fact. I do vaguely remember the reunification of Germany, though.

+ With all due respect to Wanda Sykes, Mo'Nique, and George Lopez, I'm not convinced that their new talk shows are going to last. The late night gabfest is a pretty crowded scene right now, and you'd think the powers that be had learned from the great logjam of 1993. Sure, talk shows are cheaper to produce than scripted shows, but even when you have 20 variations on the same theme it's still the same song.

+ File this in the "oops" department: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33622390/ns/world_news-weird_news/?gt1=43001

+ Next week: my fifth annual "Thanks/No Thanks" list.

Random Notes, July 2009

+ Regardless of whether or not she's running for president in three years, wouldn't it have made sense for Gov. Sarah Palin to finish out her term? Why did she choose the 3rd of July to declare her independence from Alaska? Though the media (mainstream and otherwise) has downplayed the numerous ethics complaints that she's received from her political opponents since last November, wouldn't it have made sense to address these charges and not spend 90% of her time touring the lower 48? Granted, a couple of the accusations do sound fishy, but that's beside the point; in the wake of becoming a national candidate last year, Palin simply hasn't been doing her job and the Alaska politicos turned their backs on her. Her resignation address, unfocused and hasty as it might have been, left more questions than answers; it felt like an overly subtle --and very premature-- announcement for her presidential candidacy. It's one thing to be a maverick, it's another to run away from your problems.

+ Meanwhile, this week I'm making my second serious foray into finding an apartment. I made my first attempt to break out on my own near the end of my stint at Illinois State; for all the amazing deals I found in Normal ($400/m including gas, water and electric!) I was low on money and I didn't have a job, so I had no choice but to move back home. Now that I have a part-time gig and a little bit of a nest egg, I'm making my second attempt to move out of my parents' house. Stay tuned...

+ While I'm happy (though far from surprised) that Zach Greinke was selected for the American League All-Star Team, I was somewhat disappointed that Alberto Callaspo (5/31/.301) and perennial bridesmaid David DeJesus (currently leading the AL with 6 triples) weren't considered for that "32nd man" ballot. Chone Figgins and his one home run gets a reprieve but not Big Al?

+ This TV.com/Facebook crossover might take some getting used to, especially now that my ugly mug is on display. I'm still deciding if I'll bring back my Royals avatar...

+ Last Saturday was the first broadcast of "Those Were The Days" with Steve Darnall as host (see WU #209), and to be honest with you, I thought the public's reaction was way, way over the top. I can understand if there were going to be fireworks, but shutting down the banks and all federal buildings? Parades in nearly every town in the country? You'd think it was a national holiday or something... ;)

A Left Hook, Than a Right Upper Cut

If there's a news story that I've been keeping an eye on recently, it would probably be last week's shootings at the National Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC. Strangely, the media coverage of the event has eclipsed the consequences of this hate-fueled murder. The supposedly left-leaning mainstream media has painted shooter James von Brunn as a white supremacist, an anti-Semite, and a right-wing extremist, though only the first two labels are accurate. In response, conservative news groups such as the non-profit organization American Values has pointed out that "Nazi" is an abbreviation for "National Socialist" and that the shootings are a harbinger for more "Islamofascism" to come.

In a way, both sides are wrong; hate doesn't have a political affiliation. Comparing the party of Hitler to 21st century socialism is like saying hippies are "hip," isn't it? This bigoted old coot acted on his own terms, with no agenda beyond his prejudiced and distorted view of the world. Yes, I am aware that his "manifesto" was vehemently anti-Obama, and he was convinced that the president was not born in the US and should be removed from office immediately, but his remarks were almost purely racially motivated. James von Brunn is an ignorant, deluded, anti-government, anti-American shell of a human being, and no matter where you stand on the political spectrum I hope you agree that his punishment will be swift and justified. Even a real conservative should know that their political opponents are just as above racism and anti-Semitism as they are.

Speaking of the conservative media, while I'm not condoning per se the various jokes that David Letterman made in regards to Sarah Palin and her daughter, I think the Alaskan governor did overreact in her response. When you're suddenly thrust in the media like Palin was last year, you have to realize that when it comes to satire and mockery, you're fair game. When President Bush's twin daughters were busted for underage drinking 8 1/2 years ago, the president-elect made a quick retort at the pundits and the story was forgotten about soon after. Letterman's jokes did not condone rape, nor was he saying anything new about the way Governor Palin presents herself; the two most-quoted jokes were aimed toward Alex Rodriguez and Eliot Spitzer, and I think Jay Leno first compared Palin to Tawny Kitaen almost a year ago. (Letterman apologized for real last night, admitting the joke just wasn't that funny.) If former President Bush can live with being the butt of jokes, why not the Governor of Alaska?