Clarion Content

The Centers for Disease Control(CDC) reported on the results of a massive diabetes study today. Their study of more than 250,000 households will be published in the Oct. 31 issue of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. They found that the rate of type 2 diabetes amongst the American population had nearly doubled in the last decade from from 4.8 people per 1,000 to 9.1 people per 1,000.

The Clarion Content would love to see those numbers graphed along side a study of incomes. US News & World Report cites Dr. David L. Katz, director of the Yale University School of Medicine's Prevention Research Center, "as obesity and poverty are strongly associated, and obesity is the predominant risk factor for type 2 diabetes..." The Clarion finds this fascinating because we think the initial inclination might be to think the opposite. One could easily posit that rapidly increasing obesity and therefore diabetes is about America getting rich and fat, sitting on its bum. "Why the richer those Americans get, the lazier and fatter they get," might be the take.

But it is the poor that are getting fatter, while the rich take better care of themselves. Is it about the diet of poor people and the paucity of healthy choices for cheap in America? (Or the plethora of unhealthy food options for cheap?) The rich can join health clubs, get massages, buy vitamin supplements, the list could go on and on. We wonder. Is this just a reminder of a grim statistic that is well known to actuaries but little known to the public? Is there a significant difference in life expectancy by income disparity in America?

Type 2 diabetes is treatable, but incurable. Complications from type 2 diabetes can include blindness, limb amputation, heart disease and kidney failure.

Labels: health, Pop Culture, Practical Advice, science, thought

The Clarion Content recommends you vote and be grateful you don't live somewhere you can't. There are still lots of countries where dissent can get you killed.

Labels: 2008 presidential election, Pop Culture

With the challenges and crises we face right now, we can't afford to divide this country by race or by class or by region; or by who we are or what policies we support. There are no real parts of the country and fake parts of this country. There are no pro-America parts of this country and anti-America parts of this country - we all love this country, no matter where we live or where we come from.---Barack Obama

Here is the speech that line came from. Inspirational stuff. Raise your game America. Get off the fucking couch and do something! Vote!

Labels: 2008's President, political quips-n-quotes, Politics, thought

Here is a link to some interesting interview footage of Obama before he was a United States Senator.

Thanks to the New York Times.

Labels: 2008 presidential election

This is his time.

The Clarion thinks that there is a strong case to be made that Hillary Rodham Clinton would have made a better president than Bill had she been the candidate in 1992. And the Clarion is quite certain that John McCain would have made a better president than George Bush the II had he been his party's choice in 2000. This election season has offered three candidates with presidential timber. But even good things can get screwed up by bad timing, though a person is right for one time, they may not be right for another.

There is an urge to say that this is a momentous time. And perhaps it is, but to children of the Cold War, global thermal nuclear war was a bedtime story. A dear, old, NorCal friend of the Clarion's editorial staff has long been fond of reminding us that, "The crossbow was billed as the weapon that was going to wipe out the world." Whether or not the times are huge, there are ominous portends. The sense of crossroads is in the air, real or ephemeral. An open-ended War against an ill-defined enemy, an extremely turbulent economy, and much closer to the metaphorically ever popular kitchen table, the soaring costs of health care and paying for college, the aging boomers heading towards social security like a bowling ball...immigration...the environment...

The list of policy points we will return to, because ironically, it is where we have the most disagreement with the man we endorse for President of the United States, Senator Barack Obama. We will use it to highlight why although we endorse Senator Obama, we will not be campaigning for him, nor donating funds to his campaign.

Like many, the Clarion editors first became aware of, and enamored with, Barack Obama during the keynote address to the Democratic National Convention in July 2004. Obama was transcendent. It is important to note that he was sublime not just on theme and tone, but on the content. This was not a policy speech, even if it was mainly seen by wonks and party honks. This was a speech introducing a man for the ages. Using the Declaration of Independence and the national motto to talk about things larger than himself. Obama made clear his understanding of and intimate connection to the ideas and ideals that ultimately matter to all Americans. [We have excerpted big chunks of this speech to further illustrate the point. Follow this link.] The rhetoric isn't the Kennedy-esque stuff Obama is so often compared to, instead it is more Lincoln-esque. He uses his personal story to illustrate his ideas, and he speaks extremely compellingly about how America is built on the premise that humanity can rise above itself individually to make something greater. American meritocracy and immigration are the flames endlessly burning in the beacon of light that is liberty's torch. Long before he quoth the slogan, "Yes we can!" this speech epitomized it.

As an independent 'zine with Libertarian and Green streaks the Clarion elected not to endorse a candidate in the Democratic party primaries. We got busy reading Obama and McCain's books. Meanwhile: we liked the Apple commercial parody that supported Obama early on, and we enjoyed and appreciated some of the efforts from hip-hop to support Obama, we followed the New Yorker cover controversy with interest...but the next moment we were truly pulled into the campaigns was Obama's epic speech on race in Philadelphia.

Again the central emphasis was unity of the American community, that our dreams are not a zero sum game, "your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams...This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected. And today, whenever I find myself feeling doubtful or cynical about this possibility, what gives me the most hope is the next generation - the young people whose attitudes and beliefs and openness to change have already made history in this election...we need to come together to solve a set of monumental problems - two wars, a terrorist threat, a falling economy, a chronic health care crisis and potentially devastating climate change; problems that are neither black or white or Latino or Asian, but rather problems that confront us all."

The Clarion Content accepts that the American project of forming a more perfect Union was not and is not a finished accomplishment, or even necessarily a finish-able accomplishment. It is an on-going struggle. And not a struggle to impose democracy and our version of capitalism overseas, but rather an on-going daily, writ large and writ small, struggle for each of us to be better neighbors, better citizens, and thereby better human beings. This is a mission of daily small acts of grace and kindness, attempting live by the golden rule, that the Clarion whole-heartedly, in the core of our being supports. The issue of race, like the issue of class cannot be pushed behind the curtains or hidden under the covers. If we do we risk rending the fabric of the entire project of America. Obama as a former community organizer knows this personally and is not afraid to confront it head on. It is impossible to imagine Obama saying, "Brownie, you're doing a heckuva job."

[Again we have excerpted big chunks of this speech to further illustrate the point. Follow this link.]

As we warned at the beginning of the piece we do not agree point for point with Obama's policy proposals or the Democratic party platform. We think that they are generally too protectionist and unwilling to embrace globalization, too willing to buy into jingoistic and unrealistic arguments against it. We are steadfastly opposed to state sponsored capitalism of the sort espoused by France. We think that the agricultural subsidies policy of America is a train wreck. Though we prefer Obama's budget scalpel to the hatchet of McCain's spending freeze, we believe that government is more often part of the problem than it is part of the solution. When in doubt, we defer to the principle that argues the more local a government is the more responsive it is. (This makes us nervous about Obama's health care plans, but we do believe that access to a certain level of health care is a fundamental human right.) We were surprised to hear Obama say the in the final debate that he favored tort reform, this is definitely a cause near and dear to the Clarion Content's heart. We would be very worried about health care reform that wasn't accompanied by tort reform. We believe that the economics behind Social Security's coming actuarial crisis have to be faced down. (The Clarion has only heard McCain admit this.) On energy policy, we oppose even the limited use of nuclear power. We oppose increasing off-shore drilling. We agree that we can't drill our way out of the importation of fossil fuels, that we must do everything we can to increase wind, solar and natural gas usage.

In so far as the war goes, we agree with Senator Obama that United States should begin a phased withdrawal from Iraq immediately. (Sadly a civil war and possibly even a regional conflict is coming, but our troops are not in a position to be able to prevent it.) We disagree with Obama on Afghanistan. We don't think more troops will solve the problem. We think more troops will backfire and increase the hostility of the local populace. We also do disagree with the principle of unilaterally attacking the sovereign nationals of Pakistan in their homes and villages. (The argument that folks are attacking your troops, when your troops are in their country, rings hollow indeed.) We would like to hear Obama denounce the doctrine of preemptive war in his inauguration speech.

In sum on policy, we agree with Obama on half of the biggest issue of our day, the war, and various things, but we disagree on more. Our bedrock convictions are conservative, government must be limited. Why then is the Clarion Content endorsing Senator Obama?

The Clarion is endorsing Barack Hussein Obama because we believe he exemplifies and verifies the American dream in several important ways. What he has already accomplished will go down in history whether he wins or loses. His election would be a huge step toward the fulfillment of Abraham Lincoln's vision, and Martin Luther King's dream, a more perfect union for all. The very fact of his name, which is so different than the 42 white Anglo-Saxon protestants who proceeded him, that America could elect someone with his name in a time of strain is an amazing demonstration of its principles, its commitment to its values. The best is what America values most. Secondly, that America could elect a black man gives hope to the rest of the world's belief in the American dream. Anything is possible for anyone in America and by extension, anything is possible in this world. Larry Page and Sergey Brin already prove this, but Obama's election says it in a way that makes it about all Americans. Page and Brin made it on the meritocracy of ideas and money. Obama is walking through the corridors of public acclimation to immense power. The other non-WASP, Kennedy, through his youth and Catholicism made a statement about America, but Joe Kennedy was an ambassador and a former Chairman of the SEC. By comparison Obama's grandfathers were an enlisted man and a Kenyan goat herder.

Senator Barack Obama, the black man with that name, with his achievements, with his persona, and through his comportment and decorum makes evident the lies told by so many zealots and tin pot dictators about America. From the extremist madrasses blaspheming the true meaning of the peaceful Koran to the populist thuggery of Hugo Chavez, from the KGB men of Vladimir Putin, to the monarchs, oligarchs, and tyrants of the Middle East, all will have to face Obama and the presumptuous lies they tell about America will be so much more evident to the world (but especially their own citizens.) America is a land of opportunity and Obama is the living beacon of American freedom. He demonstrates most ably that success in America can come in any size, any color, any gender, and any sexual orientation. He reminds all the America is not only for the sons of priveledge. Unlike Bush the II or Kerry, Obama is not a member of the secret Skull & Bones society. He did not attend Phillips Academy, St. Paul's School, or St. Albans School, in fact, he would be the first American President to attend Punahou School, once known as Oahu College.

Obama is a human being, an individual, a person who has made it to this place in history. Yes he is actualizing the dreams of many others, but he is also living out his own life. He didn't get into Columbia and Harvard on the legacy of his forebears. He didn't graduate with gentleman's C's. He got into Columbia University and Harvard Law through the dint of his own accomplishments. He was made the editor of the Harvard Law Review, which any insider will tell you, is not a popularity contest. It is rather given to the best of the best, the brightest of the bright.

Senator John McCain is a good man, who would have made a good president had George Bush the II not evilly tarred him in 2000 South Carolina primary.

Now, the Clarion hopes with all our collective might is that this is the dawning of a new day in America, when the doors to the highest office are finally thrown open to all. President Obama, "Yes we can!"

Labels: 2008's President, Politics

The New York Knickerbockers won their season opening game at Madison Square Garden last night. They defeated Dwayne Wade and the improving Miami Heat. The Clarion Content knows that this is likely going to be a long season for our beloved Knicks. We weren't a fan of the Mike D'Dantoni hire, nor the Danilo Gallinari pick. But for one night, all is well in the Garden.

Why D'Antoni wouldn't even let self-interested team killers and shirkers Stephon Marbury and Eddie Curry off of the bench. Hooray!

Three other quick NBA notes: one from the Knicks game, how about Heat rookie, Michael Beasly, a selfish, score first, cancer if we've ever seen one, who isn't fit to be compared to Alex English, let alone Dominique Wilkins managed a measly 9 points and 4 boards. He was outscored and outrebounded by rookie point guard Mario Chalmers!

Two: Can anyone believe Greg Oden? One game and he is out two to four weeks with a foot sprain? There is no way to avoid the Sam Bowie comparisons now.

Three: Isaiah Thomas. Whoa. Let us take pause and recognize that this is the world of sport. We wanted Isaiah out of the Knicks hierarchy as much as anyone, but let us hope the man is not so despondent as to hurt himself or anyone else. This is a trainwreck we have advance notice of, someone had better make sure the man is getting counseling. We hope his former coach and mentor Bob Knight has reached out to Isaiah. The Clarion Content sends get well wishes to Isaiah the human being.

Labels: Knicks, NBA, sports

For the first time in almost ten years there was a "legal" auction of ivory this week. The government of Nambia sold almost eight tons of ivory for $1.2 million. The group, CITES, (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) that sanctioned the sale of this ivory to China and Japan claims that proceeds from the auctions must be used exclusively for elephant conservation and community development programs in or near elephants' range. To the extent that oversight in something as high profile as "Oil for Food" failed miserably, the Clarion Content has little faith that an NGO will be able to assure how and where these African governments spend their money.

We agree with the Born Free Foundation that, "[The sale] will stimulate, not satisfy, the massive demand for ivory in countries like China. It will do nothing to re-educate customers (in China and Japan) that buying ivory is signing an elephant's death warrant."

Worse, Geneva based CITES has agreed to sanction three other sales of slaughtered elephants' tusks later this month.

Elephant murder has been so common place for so long that there are good arguments to be made that the very fabric of elephant society has been destroyed. The Clarion Content is not a proponent of "lifeboat" ethics, but neither do we believe that rapid animal extinction is good for Gaia and its inhabitants.

Labels: ecology, science, thought

Despite the very limited play it is getting in the mainstream United States media, Iraq continues the downward spiral into wider regional war. Turkish troops and warplanes regularly engage Kurdish troops inside the borders of Iraq. Of course, Iraq central government is both powerless to stop it and ill-incentivized to defend Kurdish citizens of the state. As the Clarion Content has repeatedly warned the "state" of Iraq is an illusion created in the mind of a Western mapmaker. A dictator like Saddam Hussein might have been able to hold it together by brute force, secret police, torture and intimidation, but those days are over. The "state" is disintegrating.

Labels: Middle East, war

Tom Perriello


Tom Perriello is turning heads in the 5th Congressional District of Virginia. He is running against incumbent Virgil Goode in what was a Democratic seat from 1889 until Goode changed parties in office in 2000. Word is internal campaign polling indicates Perriello has pulled within single digits of Representative Goode. This is significant because Goode has won re-election five times with times with no less than 59% of the vote.

The Clarion Content is drawn to this race because although Goode claims to have Libertarian philosophies, we are strongly opposed to several of his positions. Goode is against equal rights for homosexuals, strongly against abortion rights and anti-immigrant. Of course, the Clarion is predisposed at least slightly against all Congressional incumbent candidates. But Representative Goode has had a whiff of scandal around him too, he was connected to the same company California congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham was convicted of being bribed by. No charges were ever brought against Goode. The Clarion Content further opposes Goode because he voted for the Iraq War, and has made comments that are at minimum less than sensitive to Islamic sensibilities, (if not downright prejudiced.)

Tom Perriello on the other hand has a fascinating and atypical background. He received a law degree from Yale and then moved to Africa to actively live out his ethic of service. He worked in Sudan (including Dafur,) Liberia, Sierra Leone and also separately in Afghanistan. Perriello supports the same kind of mindset that the Clarion has been touting as central to our support of Barack Obama; from Perriello's website, "[he] believes that America must reverse the erosion of our commitment to the common good and restore our understanding that our nation rises or falls together."

It is one thing to say such things, it is a far different cry to attempt to live them out through service. One reason the Clarion Content was drawn to Senator Obama was his days as a community organizer in a tough place. One reason the Clarion was drawn to Tom Perriello was his commitment to serving the common good. The Clarion is also cognizant, and frankly appreciative, that neither man feels that he has to deny his faith to participate in politics. America needs more leaders who unhesitatingly point out our obligation to do some good in this world.

Labels: Politics

Read Duck and Cover
at the Blue Pyramid.

Labels: Duck and Cover, Middle East

The Clarion Content has been writing on and following opinions about the effect on the presidential race of Senator Barack Obama's race for some time. We have long feared the so called Bradley effect, that claims Obama's considerable lead in the polls could evaporate on election day as covert racism comes out behind the curtain of the polling booth.

Is it an unfounded fear?

Here are links to two wildly divergent opinions, the first from Frank Rich in the New York Times who comes to "white America's" defense. Rich claims that just because McCain and Palin are running a campaign that at times panders to America's baser, coarser, possibly racist instincts does not mean America is what they project it to be. He cites the disappearance of Virginia Senator George Allen from the political scene after a racial slur as proof. He reads polls that say Obama is winning among white males, something no Democratic candidate has done in the last 30 years. He says that the anthropologically tilted stories of the media have created a self-fulfilling cycle of coverage about race's role in the campaign. He cites and then ignores, Obama's fellow Democrat John Murtha's admission that his own Pennsylvania district is a "racist area." When has Frank Rich, once a theater critic, last traveled, not simply off of Manhattan island via jet plane, but to the kind of southern Virgina or western Pennsylvania towns he says are being unfairly maligned as racist? Why are so many of Senator McCain and the Republican National Committee's ads about Obama as "other" or "different?" The implication of race is as strong as ever. Is Rich right that this is a failure to understand America in the 21st century by Senator McCain and the Republican National Committee or is it a failure by a Manhattan media elite liberal, Frank Rich, to understand the rest of America?

German news magazine Die Welt sees race and the presidential race from just the opposite perspective. In a commentary published this week they ask how is it that 75% of Americans disapprove of George Bush the II's policies yet are not supporting Barack Obama in those kind of numbers. Die Welt concludes the answer is racism. Citing Governor Palin's line on Senator Obama, "This is not a man who sees America like you and I see America,” Die Welt sees overt and covert attacks on Obama the human that raise the specter of racial politics. They dissect Fox News's coverage and high ratings to show America's willingness to see white news reporters question dark skinned politicians and members of the media in language reminiscent of Jim Crow. The outline how rather than criticize Obama for his policy proposals Obama is attacked for "otherness" and "arrogance."

Which view of America is right? Probably neither in total.

The Clarion Content believes that America is having to take a long look in the mirror and examine itself. Are we the meritocracy, the shining beacon to the world we think we are?

The Clarion repeats our hope that, "whichever candidate wins on November 4th, America will get a leader who wants to unite people, to raise them up and bring out their best selves, not a leader who uses his election to divide people and bring out their worst, smallest selves."

Let us abandon the myopia of, "I win, therefore, you lose."

Labels: 2008's President, discrimination, Politics, thought

The Bud Selig brigade of fools and losers was at it again last night. At least Gary Bettman is getting paid by David Stern and the NBA to destroy the NHL. Bud Selig and crew are attempting to kill Major League baseball simply to satisfy their monstrous egos and stuff their already fat wallets.

Last night's World Series game played in a driving rain for six innings was ridiculous. It should have never started. After Morons 'r Us let it start, it should have been stopped before it got to the official five innings. Instead, they played through a driving rain in 40 degree weather. The Clarion Content is sure that was fun for the home fans who shelled out hundreds of dollars a ticket to sit through that shit. Worse yet, the way MLB waited for the game to be tied, then immediately suspended it, gave all the feel that the fix was in. Our correspondent was sitting in a sports bar watching the game, everybody in the place knew as soon as the Rays tied it, they were going to stop the game. (Just as we knew once the fools let it go past the bottom of the 5th, they weren't going to stop it with the Phillies ahead.)

This all brought to you by the same idiots who let the All-Star game end in a tie. Then decided two wrongs can't possibly make us look more asinine and turned an exhibition game into the decider of home field advantage for the sports championship.

You don't play the sport's championship game under conditions that you never, ever play in during the regular season. If all of the players are used to games being delayed or canceled in a driving rain why play on? It was dangerous and ignorant. Oh wait, he knew better than the weatherman, all along according to the Philadelphia Daily News's Bill Conlin, "Selig said that as of 6:30 p.m. only a tenth of an inch of rain was forecast to fall between game time and midnight. About the same time that Bastardi (AccuWeather meteorologist) called for a cancellation."

Can someone, please, please, please send Bud Selig back to the used car lot???

Labels: baseball, sports

The Clarion Content has long been a proponent of a college football playoff. The format we support would be an eight team playoff using the biggest of the bowls in a rotation system for the semifinals and finals. The teams included would be the champions of the six major conferences and two wild cards selected by a combination of the computers and the polls.

For years folks have been telling us that it would never ever happen. There are too many interested parties with too much cash at stake in the status quo. The Clarion heartily disagrees. The system it would appear to our eyes has been edging closer to a playoff for some time, the BCS as awful as it is, is significantly better than what college football had forty years ago. (Chaos and backroom chicanery.) However, to say the BCS is better is like saying, 'at least its only a small dent in your new car, as opposed to a large one.' It still sucks. The biggest obstacles to bagging the BCS for a real playoff system are the Big Ten and the PAC Ten. The mess that the end of this regular season foreshadows might just be enough to change minds, though we hope that every year.

The Clarion projects that Alabama, Florida, Texas and USC will all finish with one loss. Penn State will finish undefeated. What if somehow the computers and the pollsters still refused to put Penn State in the national championship game, not inconceivable given the putrid state of the Big Ten, and the long time that Penn State will spend out of the national spotlight while other teams are finishing strong in their conference championship games? If Penn State were left out under that scenario would the hue and cry be loud enough to get a playoff system? Even a four team playoff? The Clarion hopes so, if that's what it takes. Penn State has been there before under Joe Paterno, undefeated and screwed out of the national championship game. Surely the Big Ten would have to come around to supporting a playoff then?

Even if Penn State gets in, how to select the challenger out of the one loss teams? Thorny and arbitrary as that is, it still might not be enough to bring around the playoff holdouts. Though if Penn State loses in that scenario, say to a 1 loss USC and a 1 loss Florida whips Texas in the Fiesta Bowl? What then?

Labels: college football, NCAA, sports

The Clarion Content has been following presidential endorsements for the past several weeks, from our own, to American newspapers, to pop culture You Tube endorsements. Unfortunately, it is our duty to report Senator John McCain's campaign received an endorsement that they certainly didn't want, Al-Qaeda.

It only figures, Senator Obama's plan to withdraw from Iraq, his willingness to negotiate with America's enemies and his long term vision are all bad for Al-Qaeda recruiting. Al-Qaeda would much prefer to have the man who envisions American troops in Iraq for 100 years win power. Al-Qaeda prefers the man who like George Bush the II views the world through the prism of an endless conflict between good and evil. Al-Qaeda prefers the man who sees "Islamo-fascism" behind every separatist and nationalist struggle.

Senator McCain, we believe that this was one endorsement that you did not want. However, it should serve as a reminder to all American's that seeing the world through a lens of "Us vs. Them" in a zero-sum death struggle is the vision of its greatest enemy. America should not adopt said vision as their own crusade. It is inherently self-annihilating. Any Americans old enough to have lived through the Cold War should be able to recite a litany of America mistakes; ranging from tragic to disastrous, that came about because of the narrow focus that saw every separatist and nationalist struggle as a battle between communism and democracy.

Labels: 2008 presidential election, Politics, thought, war

The Clarion Content cannot believe how many times in the last two weeks we have had to address the failure of television providers to show viewers live sporting events. When we read yet another story of this kind of snafu, our reaction was along the lines of, "You have got to be kidding!?!"

But no, they weren't. Here is the story, monopolist and convicted bandwidth denier Comcast Cable, who controls the airwaves in the greater Philadelphia metropolitan area lost the Phillies telecast of Game Three. Comcast went down across the Philadelphia area, parts of central Pennsylvania and South Jersey for 20 minutes in the middle of the game. They lost coverage with spectacularly bad timing for Phillies fans, causing them to miss Chase Utley and Ryan Howard's back to back 6th inning homers.

Congratulations on a craptastic job, Comcast!

Labels: baseball, sports, television

People who stand on ceremony about their job description are ultimately losers, not leaders.

Labels: Practical Advice, Sayings

Remember the Budweiser Wassup ads from a years back?

Here is an Obama campaign video in the same vein...

Labels: 2008 presidential election, Pop Culture

The Clarion Content posted our endorsement of Senator Barack Obama for President of the United States on the main page this week.

We thought perhaps you might like to read some other newspapers' presidential endorsements, follow this link to an AP story excepting several.

Labels: 2008 presidential election, Politics

The Clarion Content vigorously disputed this notion last night, only to awake this morning dispatch our crack research staff and find out the readers had been right and the editor wrong.

According to everywhere we checked today the Los Angeles Lakers are the oddsmakers favorite to win the 2009 NBA title. Truly we can't believe it. The Celtics, though the second choice, are getting no respect! Did people not see the dismantling the Celtics put on the Lakers in the Finals? Andrew Bynum, who has never started sixty games in a season and never averaged more than the 13pts, 10 boards he put together last year, is supposed to make that big a difference? Coming off of knee surgery? How will he, Gasol, and Odom all play at once? Sure, Odom's gonna be happy coming off of the bench in a contract year, right. And Kobe's gonna share the ball and be a better person. You will have to forgive us if we don't believe the hype.

We believe the Pistons are a better second choice than the Lakers. Kobe just went over the 1,000 games played mark for his career. He played 106 regular season and playoff games last year, then without a break headed on to the Olympics. No Olympics for the leaders of the real favorites Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Rajan Rondo.

The oddsmakers in one book have Hornets as the third choice and the Pistons as the fourth. The Clarion has heavy respect for Chris Paul, David West and the boys. We could easily see them knocking off the Lake show in the playoffs. We will tell you that we are pretty darn confident that the Spurs every other year thing finally comes to end. If Duncan and Pop can somehow pull it off with a banged up Ginobili and the aging cast off spare parts, it will be an amazing feat. Don't sleep on the Pistons, as Bill Simmons warns in his NBA fantasy preview, they need an in-season trade to avoid becoming the Atlanta Braves II, but they have a great core.

The oddsmakers in another book have the Houston Rockets as the third choice, which just goes to prove P.T. Barnum's old line, "There's a sucker born every minute."

Celtics coach Doc Rivers had the best answer for the lack of respect the defending champs are getting, "We pick us. We picked us last year, too."

Labels: NBA, Predictions, sports

The Clarion Content doesn't believe the hype. The news media industry has been aflutter the last day or two claiming that the polls show a tightening presidential race between Senators John McCain and Barack Obama. The Clarion reminds you that this industry has a huge financial stake in hyping the competitiveness of the presidential race as much as possible.

Only one poll counts, the one election officials have to tally on the evening of November 4th. (Hopefully using the actual votes cast.)

Here is some of the news media industry's latest poll hot air.

Here is an aggregate of a slew of polls complied by the Christian Science Monitor. They have found not only is there conflicting data being reported nationally, but what the pollsters are saying about the national race is not backed by state to state data.

Labels: 2008's President, Politics, Predictions

Yesterday saw one of the type of clashes that are likely to be increasingly common in Iraq as the United States draws down its troop presence and the survivors of the U.S. invasion fight over the spoils. The clash in question occurred in the recently quiet, supposedly, "Mission Accomplished" Anbar province. Xinhua reports fifteen folks were killed and forty wounded in clashes that lasted throughout the night and on into the next day. Speculation about a motive centered around disputed property. In a discouraging, but again not surprising note, Xinhua said, "Local security forces did not step in the fight, but had been put on alert."

Labels: Middle East, war

The guru of globalization, Thomas L. Friedman, author of such books as The Lexus and the Olive Tree and The World Is Flat, wrote an op-ed piece in this past weekend's New York Times. Friedman, whose books suffer for the details, but suffice for following the macro-scale wave, concludes that the global economic panic and credit market crunch will bring the economies of the world's nation-states together. He says, "...once the smoke clears, I suspect we will find ourselves living in a world of globalization on steroids — a world in which key global economies are more intimately tied together than ever before...it will be a world in which multilateral diplomacy and regulation will no longer be a choice. It will be a reality and a necessity. We are all partners now."

The Clarion Content finds this fascinating because it just the opposite of what we are hearing from so many other commentators. Many other analysts are arguing that the the global financial crunch will bring with it resurgent nationalism and increased power for the nation-state at the expense of multilateral institutions. They highlight the lack of a coordinated world response to the crisis, the impotency of the United Nations in the face of global financial panic, as well as, the widely differing approaches adopted to the meltdown by the United States and the European countries.

Discuss amongst yourselves. And please post comment! We are still thinking and need your help.

Labels: Economy, Predictions

Don't look now but the word from the BBC and the Security and Cryptography Laboratory at the Swiss Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) is that a new form of computer spying has become possible. A project by two graduate students at the EPFL has shown that it is possible to tell what keystrokes a person is making from a distance of up to fifty feet away by measuring the electromagnetic radiation emitted by keystrokes with a radio antennae. The students demonstrated the effectiveness of their test on twelve different keyboard models, including embedded laptop keyboards. (Perhaps the countermeasures developed by the NSA to fight Van Eck phreaking will also work for keyboards.)

Labels: technology

Just a day after the Clarion Content blasted TBS and Major League Baseball for the snafu that prevented them from getting the first inning of Game 1 of the American League Championship Series on the air another sports power failure hit. This one felt rather more like bad luck than piss-poor planning.

Three small mylar balloons became entangled in wires across from the Buffalo Bills' Rich Stadium thirty minutes before game time. Power failed throughout the stadium. CBS was unable to broadcast the game. The Jumbotron did not work. Time was kept on the field, the play clock was signaled to the quarterbacks by hand. There were no television timeouts as the game was unable to be aired without power to the stadium. The crowd cheered without prompting as the usual electronic noise was not pumped through the stadium. The teams sat in darkened locker rooms before the game and at halftime.

Power was restored during the third quarter. Television coverage resumed shortly thereafter and the Bills won with a late goal-line stand and two turnovers by Chargers QB, Phillip Rivers.

Labels: NFL, sports, television

The Clarion Content doesn't believe the hype. The news media industry has been all aflutter the last day or two claiming that the polls show a tightening presidential race between Senators John McCain and Barack Obama. The Clarion reminds you that this industry has a huge financial stake in hyping the competitiveness of the presidential race as much as possible.

Only one poll counts, the one election officials have to tally on the evening of November 4th. (Hopefully using the actual votes cast.)

Here is some of the news media industry's latest poll hot air.

Labels: 2008 presidential election, Politics

United States Senator Ken Salazar of Colorado has asked Army Secretary Pete Geren to review a slew of violent incidents committed by soldiers stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado. Because the Clarion's home offices are located not so far down the road from Fort Bragg, North Carolina in Fayetteville, this is an issue that has been on our radar. Like what the Senator has noticed in Colorado, North Carolina has seen a spate of violent incidents associated with Fort Bragg soldiers, many of them tragically related to domestic abuse of spouses and kids.

The Senator's request came to our attention courtesy of the Denver Post, which noted too, that "16 Fort Carson soldiers have committed suicide since the beginning of the Iraq war." An awful statistic that has sadly been far too common near North Carolina's military installations as well.

Labels: thought, war

And you thought Anna Kournikova was too young and unaccomplished for the ESPN/Disney folks to make a Sports-Century documentary about her...that it was somehow all about exploiting her looks.

Leave it to the Disney publicity machine to always be able to top their hot air with even hotter air and even emptier hype.

Word reached the Clarion this week of teeny bopper Miley Cyrus's impending autobiography. Miley a tween Disney multimedia star and heart throb has been everywhere for months, including some racy Annie Leibovitz photos, which once the negative pub started she immediately claimed to have coerced into doing. Miley, star of the Disney series Hannah Montana, began her career at the ripe old age of eleven, so of course, at fifteen, going on sixteen, she is ready to write an autobiography.

Yes, she is the daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus of "Achy-breaky heart" fame. She was even generous enough to give the old man a part in her hit show. You go girl.

It may be a few years before the Clarion Content gets around to reviewing her autobiography.

Labels: Pop Culture

John McCain's running mate, the Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin made an appearance on Saturday Night Live this weekend. Palin showed a credible sense of humor and it was SNL's highest ready show in 14 years. As the New York Times reviewer put it, "One thing everybody can agree on is that Gov. Sarah Palin is qualified — to someday host her own television show."

Labels: 2008 presidential election, Pop Culture, television

You may recall that last week on the main Clarion Content page we were discussing the virulent anger of some McCain-Palin supporters, and how race would factor in the presidential race. In a nuanced piece in this week's New York Times Magazine, Matt Bai addresses the issue head-on in an article titled, "Will Gun-Toting, Churchgoing White Guys Pull the Lever for Barack Obama?" He pulls out important threads, reminding readers that a very white Senator John Kerry lost the white male vote nationally by 25% according to exit polling. He notes that, "In three states — Texas, Indiana and North Carolina — more people voted in Democratic primaries this year than voted for Kerry on Election Day in 2004."

He concedes that, of course, Obama's priority is winning the election. However he carefully follows and artfully interviews the candidate on the issue of an election mandate. No more of Bush II's arrogant, divisive stance that, "50% plus exactly one vote empowers me to do whatever I want." He says that, "Obama’s central argument about American politics [is] this notion that the cultural fault line in the electorate can somehow be bridged by a generational change in leadership." Bai follows that up quoting Obama to the effect that this cultural fault line is exploited by a relentlessly profit driven media, "...there is an entire industry now, an entire apparatus, designed to perpetuate this cultural schism, and it’s powerful." Bai reminds us that this was an issue Obama wanted to fight as far back as the 2004 convention speech that introduced him to many folks, "when he talked about worshiping 'an awesome God in the blue states' and having 'gay friends in the red states.'" Obama is quoted saying that the cultural divide, the surrounding anger, and partisanship has been the impassable blockade that has prevented action on so many big issues, "if voters are similarly polarized and if they’re seeing two different realities, a Sean Hannity reality and a Keith Olbermann reality, then we’re not going to be able to get done the work we need to get done.” The Clarion agrees.

No matter who wins there are issues that have to be addressed. Among them: immigration, (which neither candidate is talking about,) the coming retirement of the boomers and the strain on Social Security and Medicare, (which McCain at least mentioned in the last debate) and farm subsidies and their brutal effect on the world's poorest. Some issues will always be partisan, some people will always disagree with any course of policy. The Clarion's hope, whichever candidate wins on November 4th, is that America will get a leader who wants to unite people, to raise them up and bring out their best selves, not a leader who uses his election to divide people and bring out their worst, smallest selves.

Let us abandon the myopia of, "I win, therefore, you lose."

Labels: 2008 presidential election, facing race, Politics, thought

Turner Broadcasting Systems or TBS screwed up big time last night. Somehow they managed to cut the power to both their router and their back-up router carrying the American League Championship Series Game 6. Well done, geniuses. This meant nowhere in the country were the first twenty minutes of the game available on television. Sports bars everywhere faced near riots, as TBS showed "The Steve Harvey Show," and ran a crawl on the bottom of the screen saying, "We are experiencing technical difficulties."

Of course, Bud Selig's force of used cars salesmen had their collective heads up their asses again, claiming that they were, "unaware there was a problem until the broadcast failed to come on the air." That is Major League Baseball's administration in a nutshell for you; clueless, helpless and oblivious. Good work nimrods!

Labels: baseball, Pop Culture, sports, television

One of the best little Obama ditties we've heard yet...

Labels: 2008 presidential election, Politics, Pop Culture

You'll remember about a week ago, when we called your attention to the hot start of the New York Rangers and their all world goalie, Henrik Lunqvist. After last night, back-up goalie, Steve Valiquette is 2 and 0 following a regulation shutout and a shootout win for the Blue shirts in the world's most famous arena.

The Toronto Maple Leafs, the ghost of an original six team, which hasn't won a Stanley cup since the Johnson administration, were the victims. Valiquette who had a strong year as the back-up last year, played nine of the ten games he started on the road. He was especially gratified to get the shutout at home. The crowd stood and chanted "Valee! Valee!" as he turned back five Toronto shots on a later 3rd period power play. He said later, "That gave me goosebumps. And now I know how Henrik feels."

The Rangers are off to a 6 and 1 start.

Labels: hockey, sports

The Clarion wanted to weigh on the Syracuse football coaching job, which rumor has it, will be available at the end of this college football season. Greg Robinson has the Orangemen at a lowly 1 and 5 right now. The Clarion hopes they have a little bit more class than Clemson and wait until the end of the season before they break their coach off, that should be SOP. It is an ill-advised example to the young scholarship athletes to do anything else.

The Clarion was less than favorably predisposed to Robinson to begin with because we opposed the Paul Pasqualoni firing. We believed that Coach Pasqualoni, who had brought the program back to such renewed heights, was just going through a down cycle. Some alumni thought that they were a bigger deal than the reality. They thought that an USC guy could recruit to upstate New York.

We hope that they don't make the same kind of mistake again. We felt compelled to weigh in, even though Coach Robinson still has his job, just because we'd heard they might be heading down the same misbegotten road. One of the leading candidates is Florida, Assistant Head Coach and Offensive Line Coach, Steve Addazio. Now at least Addazio is from Connecticut rather than from a sunshine state, but we have no idea what makes folks think that just because he can recruit to warm weather Florida that he can recruit to Syracuse. He also has Notre Dame experience, but during one of the most unsuccessful stints in their history.

The Clarion strongly prefers renown motivator Turner Gill. The former star Nebraska quarterback and more recently Nebraska Quarterbacks Coach has resurrected nearby Buffalo's program from their status as, quite literally, the worst team in Division I-A to a MAC contender. They are coming off an overtime loss to 6 and 1 Western Michigan, but Gill has the program poised to turn around and is ready to make the leap to the next level.

Labels: college football, NCAA, sports

A grisly tale with a postmodern twist.

The grisly tale
Wayne Forrester, 34, of London, England was found guilty of murdering his 34 year old wife and mother of two, Emma. They had been married for 15 years and recently separated. Forrester, a truck driver, repeatedly stabbed her in the head and neck with a kitchen knife and a meat cleaver on February 18th in the middle of the night in their former home. He was later determined to be intoxicated and high on cocaine. He did not flee the scene. Neighbors found him sitting outside the house covered in blood and called the police.

The postmodern twist
Forrester told the cops about his dead wife, "Emma and I had just split up. She forced me out. She then posted messages on an internet website telling everyone she had left me and was looking to meet other men.

Forrester called his wife's parents the day before the murder to protest changes in Emma's Facebook profile which was now listing her as single.

He said, "I loved Emma and felt totally devastated and humiliated about what she had done to me."


Thanks to the BBC news for the heads up on the story.

Labels: Pop Culture, technology

The Clarion has long believed that baseball highlights do a disservice to the game, splicing a tapestry into snapshots. Taking an irreducible whole that lasts nearly three hours and distilling into 45 seconds or a minute has never worked for baseball. But then, baseball was born long before television, let alone cable television, ESPN, SportsCenter and the hideous Baseball Tonight.

It was the highlight mentality that fed the steroid era because the home run is the closest thing baseball has to a good television highlight. Who wants to see a guy work a walk? Or hit behind the runner to move somebody over? Highlights kill nuance. Television has been beating the nuance out of American culture for some time. On TV bombast blows subtly away, witness the ever more obnoxious talking heads on the news networks, the descent from Cronkite to Jennings to Limbaugh to Lou Dobbs to Nancy Grace has been steep, precipitous and not helpful for those who believe reason requires nuance and subtly not just brute force and volume.

Baseball is a game from a different era. And baseball highlights suck. Never was there a game that better supported this postulate than the Boston Red Sox miraculous comeback for the ages last night over the Tampa Bay Rays. Baseball has to be sipped and savored, it can't be chugged. In a scintillating column this morning lifelong Red Sox fan, Bill Simmons, takes us through the notion that for real fans baseball is a season long experience. (Incidentally this is why those best of five series in the 1st round of the playoffs stink. Cubs fans follow their team from April to October; then it is over in three games?!? All baseball playoff series should be seven games. But that's a debate for another day.)

Last night the Red Sox looked done, lost, cooked. They trailed 7-0. Tampa's kids had been pounding the ball out of the yard again. One time Met prospect, Scott Kazmir was throwing a two hit shutout at them. Their postseason stalwart of curses broken and championships past, Manny, having found out he couldn't do it with out them, even if he hit .800 with runners in scoring position, had his feet up on the couch somewhere. They were done. It was "Get the golf clubs out boys, the season's over" time.

Then, inexplicably, Rays manager, Joe Maddon, who had pushed all the right buttons for his young club in the series to date, took out Kazmir. Kazmir who had just struck out Youk and mini-Manny, Jason Bay, in the 6th, was out before the start of the 7th. No big deal, the Rays had a seven run lead, and not since the 1929 Philadelphia A's had a team overcome a seven run deficit in the postseason. (Of course, that was against the perennially jinxed Cubs.) But the start of the home 7th, after the Fenway crowd had stretched, was auspicious. Jed Lowrie doubled, but no worries, the Rays new pitcher, an Aussie named Grant Balfour mowed down the Red Sox anemic 8th and 9th place hitters. Two out and a guy on second, 7-0, it was garbage time, right?

Not so fast. Coco Crisp singled. And then A.L. MVP candidate Dustin Pedroia came to the plate, the Fenway crowd refusing to give up hope, or possibly just in gratitude for a fantastic season, stood and cheered. And darn if the little man, 5'7" in lifts, didn't find a way to get a hit. The Red Sox were on the board. And that brought up Big Papi, David Ortiz. Nobody has missed Manny more. Ortiz was homerless and hitting .105 for the series, but in the crowd the Sox faithful were holding homemade "Boston believes" signs. They were rewarded. Ortiz stroked a three run bomb deep into the night, but still it was 7-4 Rays at the end of the inning. The Red Sox only had six more outs to score three more times, an unlikely proposition at best.

The Sox closer Jonathan Paplebon shut down the Rays, 1-2-3 in the visitors 8th. This was one of the things, of course, that didn't make the highlights, no time for that, but in the parlance of the week, it was a game changer. Before they even had an eyeblink to register it, the young Rays were back in the field, playing defense. The first Sox batter mini-Manny, Jason Bay, walked on four pitches. As we told you earlier, they don't put walks in the highlight reel, but to those watching the game in real time, the nervousness of that four pitch walk was obvious. J.D. Drew's home run that cut the Rays lead to a single run felt almost inevitable, and did make the video tape.

But then the most sublime moment of an amazing game. It came after two more outs, just when Rays fans had to think they might escape the wolf by the hair on their chinny, chin, chin. It came after number nine hitter Mark Kotsay doubled to deep center over the outstretched arms of the guy who had been chasing'em down all series, B.J. Upton. It came to the plate in the presence of light hitting, back-up centerfielder, Coco Crisp. In the sports bar one of our editors was stationed at, Red Sox fans were merely hoping Crisp could walk, or perhaps get hit by a pitch to bring up Pedroia with the tying run in scoring position. Crisp and Rays pitcher Dan Wheeler began an epic eleven pitch battle, exactly one pitch of which made the highlights. Crisp and Wheeler like gladiators or knights, single combat, mano a mano, pitch after pitch. Crisp kept fouling'em off, extending the at-bat, hanging in there, taking a pitch here or there, until finally the count was full.

This is the essence of baseball, the individual confrontation that separates it from other team sports. One guy standing on raised mound of dirt 60 feet six inches away from another guy who must decide in approx .13 seconds (faster than most grown folks can double click a stopwatch) whether the ball is going to hit him in the noggin', be just a bit outside or be over the plate. Crisp, needless to say, chose wisely. He swung, he hit it, lining a game tying single into right field. The comeback was complete.

The highlights showed only the last pitch, and continued on to Crisp getting thrown out at second trying to take the extra base on the throw (an utterly meaningless sequence after the tying run had scored.) Watching the highlights was like skipping all the foreplay, going straight to the wham, bam thank you ma'am, and then inexplicably (because there was no good place to cut the clip) filming the cigarette afterward, too.

The Red Sox prevailed in the ninth on an infield single by A.L. MVP candidate Kevin Youkilis, a wild throw by Rays rookie third baseman, Evan Longoria, and a two out hit off of the bat of J.D. Drew.

Baseball highlights suck. If you only saw the highlights, you missed a classic game, an emotional rollercoaster, a game emblematic of the greatness of baseball which extends from the macrocosmos of a 162 game regular season to the microcosmos of a one on one confrontation for eleven pitches with everything hanging in the balance.

Labels: baseball, sports, thought

Laundry is a difficult task because you are never really caught up, there are always the clothes you are wearing which are in the process of getting dirty.

The Clarion would argue that this makes laundry a good metaphor for the upstream nature of life. Living creatures are always swimming upstream as they perceive the world out their own eyes. We see this described in the Second Law of Thermodynamics, entropy, (in short) energy in isolated systems dissipates. Animals in what we call 'the wild' are in a constant struggle for the food and water required to survive, as well as, dying to escape the predators in their ecological niche. Same goes for the plants.

Laundry is part of the entropy process, the constant progression to disorder. It is not as hard as life in 'the wild.'

Labels: Practical Advice, thought

Joe the plumber from Ohio got more air time than Iraq last night at the presidential debate. He doesn't look like the Joe Six Pack we pictured. McCain used him to bludgeon Obama on tax policy, declaring it was a bad time to raise taxes on anybody. Obama turned it around to point at McCain's dangerous and ill-advised health care plan, and his support for taxes cuts for the uber-rich. (Though as McCain noted, Joe the Plumber is no Warren Buffett.)

So who is the real Joe the Plumber?

Here are a couple of links to read about him.

Labels: 2008 presidential election, economics, Pop Culture

We at the Clarion have to give the Phillies their due respect. Congratulations to the Phillies and their fans in the city of brotherly love!

Clearly, we were rooting for the Dodgers, but not out of any animosity for the Phils, rather we just wanted to see old Joe Torre make it to the World Series. We wanted Torre and Manny to give the jerks running the Yankees brain trust (Brian Cashman excepted) their comeuppance for so callously and arrogantly dismissing Torre's efforts. (Yes, we mean you, boot-licker, Randy Levine.)

But today is not the day to talk about the Dodgers or the Yanks. How about them Phillies!?! The Clarion loves and respects that they built from within, count'em three different N.L. MVPs have come up through their farm system to win the MVP with the big club, Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. That is impressive. Moreover, several other Phillies players came from within, too, including starting pitchers Cole Hamels, (the N.L.C.S. MVP) and Brett Myers, as well as catcher Carlos Ruiz and outfielder Pat Burrell. It takes terrific scouting and tremendous patience to win this way, the Phils deserve credit. They built slowly and incrementally, the team has won 80 or more games for seven straight seasons. Last year they finally made the playoffs only to get swept by the scorching Colorado Rockies. This year they came back even more determined.

The guy who carried the series from their side, in the Clarion's view, was the flyin' Hawaiian, Shane Victorino. He made pivotal catches in game 2 and game 4 with runners on base to preserve the lead. In game 2 he added four RBIs. He had two more nice catches in center in game 5. He did not back down with the Dodgers threw one over his head in game 3, but he also wisely did not escalate so much as to get ejected or suspended. And finally he snuffed Dodger dreams with a huge game tying homer in game 4 without which the well traveled Matt Stairs never would have seen the plate to hit his dinger.

Good luck to the Phils and their fans in the World Series.

Philadelphia is starved for a championship. It has been 25 long years since Moses proclaimed, "Fo', fo' and fo'." And then led the Sixers to the promise land along side, Hall of Famer, the Doctor, Julius Erving and the underrated backcourt tandem of Mo Cheeks and Andrew Toney.

Labels: baseball, sports

We at the Clarion have to give the Phillies their due respect. Congratulations to the Phillies and their fans in the city of brotherly love!

Clearly, we were rooting for the Dodgers, but not out of any animosity for the Phils, rather we just wanted to see old Joe Torre make it to the World Series. We wanted Torre and Manny to give the jerks running the Yankees brain trust (Brian Cashman excepted) their comeuppance for so callously and arrogantly dismissing Torre's efforts. (Yes, we mean you, boot-licker, Randy Levine.)

But today is not the day to talk about the Dodgers or the Yanks. How about them Phillies!?! The Clarion loves and respects that they built from within, count'em three different N.L. MVPs have come up through their farm system to win the MVP with the big club, Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. That is impressive. Moreover, several other Phillies players came from within, too, including starting pitchers Cole Hamels, (the N.L.C.S. MVP) and Brett Myers, as well as catcher Carlos Ruiz and outfielder Pat Burrell. It takes terrific scouting and tremendous patience to win this way, the Phils deserve credit. They built slowly and incrementally, the team has won 80 or more games for seven straight seasons. Last year they finally made the playoffs only to get swept by the scorching Colorado Rockies. This year they came back even more determined.

The guy who carried the series from their side, in the Clarion's view, was the flyin' Hawaiian, Shane Victorino. He made pivotal catches in game 2 and game 4 with runners on base to preserve the lead. In game 2 he added four RBIs. He had two more nice catches in center in game 5. He did not back down with the Dodgers threw one over his head in game 3, but he also wisely did not escalate so much as to get ejected or suspended. And finally he snuffed Dodger dreams with a huge game tying homer in game 4 without which the well traveled Matt Stairs never would have seen the plate to hit his dinger.

Good luck to the Phils and their fans in the World Series.

Philadelphia is starved for a championship. It has been 25 long years since Moses proclaimed, "Fo', fo' and fo'." And then led the Sixers to the promise land along side, Hall of Famer, the Doctor, Julius Erving and the underrated backcourt tandem of Mo Cheeks and Andrew Toney.

Labels: baseball, NBA, sports

NBC News analyst Chuck Todd made a fascinating point tonight just before his network signed off of their presidential debate coverage. He said something to the effect of what a whirlwind the campaign had felt like to him. It has only been sixty or so days since the end of the two major party's conventions. He then contrasted that with the eighteen months spent on the primary campaigns and sighed, "What a waste."

The Clarion couldn't agree more. How could the system be gamed so that we saw eighteen months of Hillary Clinton v. Barack Obama and nearly as much of Mitt Romney v. John McCain? Tonight Clinton and Romney were their party's seconds. They were offered and accepted invitations to speak on NBC News coverage after the debate. They were both solidly on message. But to Chuck Todd's point the country spent eighteen long months dissecting Senator Clinton v. Senator Obama and tonight, two weeks before the big decision, she merited a three minute interview, likewise for Governor Romney. There were months of coverage for a person who tonight was a non-entity, whereas the country has known who the full tickets would be for the major parties for barely two months. Obama and Clinton debated twenty plus times, McCain and Romney debated sixteen times, Obama and McCain three times.

This foolish primary system has to be fixed.

Labels: 2008 presidential election, Politics

Unfair, but not unfunny.

Labels: 2008 presidential election, Pop Culture

If your favorite baseball team is in the market for a pitcher this off-season, you gotta figure a new franchise joined the fray this week after the way the Boston Red Sox pitching staff has labored in their American League Championship Series versus Tampa Bay.

"Dice K" Matsuzaka is the only Sox pitcher performing up to snuff. Their ace Josh Beckett got shelled again, after having been clobbered in the previous series against the Angels, too. They are being tight lipped, but he is clearly injured. Beyond that, John Lester is a back end of the rotation guy that has been covered by their prodigious offense. (Which is now missing not only Manny, but aging and injured World Series MVP Mike Lowell.) Further down the bench, knuckleballer Tim Wakefield is 42, and though his arm never gets tired, he looks like he couldn't throw it past Don Zimmer at this point. We can't imagine that Boston is counting on a comeback out of the nearly 50 year old Curt Schilling. So what does that mean?

Well, Indians, Yankees, Mets, Braves fans and any other pursuers of good starting pitching, beware Red Sox nation has entered the fray. Selling out Fenway over and over again has given them the revenue to chase C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, or reacquire Derek Lowe. They also have the prospects to compete in the Jake Peavy sweepstakes if the Padres are truly making him available.

Labels: baseball, sports

Ah, would that this post were about a brilliant new approach to politics, unfortunately it is about a savvy new approach to political advertising. Senator Barack Obama's campaign has become the first presidential campaign to place ads in video games. ("No McCainiacs, he didn't put them in Grand Theft Auto IV.")

The ads are on virtual billboards and other background items within X-Box Live, internet enabled and connected versions of games. In Obama's case, ads will run in games by the popular EA Sports company, including Madden '09. The goal, according to the EA sports folks, is to reach the coveted 18-34 male demographic.

Labels: 2008 presidential election, Pop Culture, technology

Once upon a time in Berkeley, CA, one of the Clarion's editors had a largely unresolvable debate with a particularly interesting interlocutor about Art. The point in question was whether or not all visual Art was a representation of something that could be seen elsewhere in the universe. Our un-indicted co-conspirator argued no, surely modern art alone was so different and free form that it was not represented. At the time, we recall arguing, that the micro-cosmos represented an array of mostly as yet unseen visuals that could have mimicked the wildest modern art. The discussion ultimately came back to unresolvable differences about the nature of infinity, already all encompassing or through the passage of time adding new to what only seems all encompassing through our mortal lens and scale.

We were reminded of this conversation earlier this week when astronomers voted for the best pictures taken by Hubble in its 16 years in orbit. The Hubble telescope transmits an almost unfathomable 120 gigabytes of information every week.

Follow this link to a gallery of the top ten photos as voted by the astronomers.

Follow this link to even more photos.

Labels: science, thought

While this is not a scientific sampling of McCain supporters and the video's linked below are taken by a bias observer, these folks are why the Clarion is worried about the Bradley effect in the polls and Obama. The Bradley effect named after former Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley said that polls for minority candidates consistently overstated their support because what voters did and said varied based on privacy. Today the Clarion heard former (suspect) Virginia Governor, and current Richmond Mayor, Douglas Wilder reference the same in his experience with the polls and the results. He warned the Obama campaign not to be complacent.

See the McCain rallies that have us worried.

PA video

Ohio video I

Ohio video II

Labels: 2008's President, discrimination, Politics

While this is not a scientific sampling of McCain supporters and the video's linked below are taken by a bias observer, these folks are why the Clarion is worried about the Bradley effect in the polls and Obama. The Bradley effect named after former Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley said that polls for minority candidates consistently overstated their support because what voters did and said varied based on privacy. Today the Clarion heard former (suspect) Virginia Governor, and current Richmond Mayor, Douglas Wilder reference the same in his experience with the polls and the results. He warned the Obama campaign not to be complacent.

See the McCain rallies that have us worried.

PA video

Ohio video I

Ohio video II

Labels: 2008 presidential election, Politics, public protest

The New York Rangers are 3 and 0 for the first time since 1989. It must be a pleasure to play in front of the best goalie in the world. Despite being the gold medal winning goalie in the Olympics with his native Sweden, Henrik Lundqvist remains underrated. ESPN the magazine gave the cover, on the week of their hockey preview, to Washington's Capitals star left wing Alex Ovechkin. The New York area media continue to defer to the future Hall of Fame goalie playing in New Jersey, Martin Brodeur. Will this be the year the NHL wakes up and gives Lundqvist his props? The Clarion hopes so.

Labels: hockey, sports

If you were looking for one more reason not to ride the rides at the State Fair or your local carnival, how about this story from Port Orange, Florida.

The ride operator (read: Meth addict) operating the "Crazy Bus" at the Port Orange Carnival forgot to apply the safety brake as folks were getting off the ride. Not surprisingly, the ride rose back into the air. Most folks were still inside the ride. Unfortunately, a mother and her young daughter were caught half in and half out of the ride as it ascended some 40 feet in the air. Thanks to a group of good samaritans this story has a happy ending. According to witnesses, the mother managed to hold on to the "Crazy Bus" with one hand and her daughter with the other for nearly three minutes, during that time a group of ten to twelve on-lookers formed a circle underneath the pair and urged the mother to drop her daughter into their waiting arms.

The mother, one Sheri Pinkerton, said later, "There was nothing I could do. I could not hold both of us. I held on to her as long as I could. I let go of her and she grabbed my shirt so I had to pry her hands off my shirt and let her fall."

The catch was made successfully and amazingly both mother and daughter survived the trauma unharmed.

Labels: Pop Culture, Practical Advice

Paris Hilton's campaign for the fake presidency continues.



See her first campaign video here.

Word is Paris's potential cabinet might include Michael Kors, Kanye West, Diane von Furstenberg, Naughty by Nature, Stephen Hawking, Madonna, Karl Lagerfeld, and, of course, Tinkerbell [her dog].

Labels: 2008 presidential election, Pop Culture

Cook County Sheriff, Tom Dart of Illinois, has announced that his office will no longer evict people in his jurisdiction on the basis of foreclosure orders. Now that is sweet civil disobedience!!! Sheriff Dart has found that far too often his office is evicting renters from properties owned by investors. These renters all too often are up to date, fully paid on their rent, yet they are being booted into the street with no notice because their landlords (property owners) have failed to pay the banks and mortgage companies. (Note: Evictions for non-payment of rent will continue.)

One courageous American official has said, "No more. Not on my watch." Sheriff Dart has taken a stand against what for far too long has been the wrong attitude by American civil servants, especially cops; the mantra of 'Protect and Serve' has morphed beneath our noses to 'Enforce.' The people pay the salaries of all government officials, they serve at our pleasure. We at the Clarion applaud Sheriff Dart for his brave act of civil disobedience. Of course, the mortgage companies are suing him and his office. (Somehow after all this they still have the money for fancy lawyers to sue!?!)

Labels: economics, public protest