Friday, December 07, 2001
My prescient brother mentioned at dinner that he had installed "All Things Must Pass" into his auto cd rotation just days before George Harrison's passing. And apparently "My Sweet Lord" has been re-released this week. I always felt Harrison's rockabilly chops gave the Beatles a dimension early on that was lost in their middle and late period. George's fascination with the sitar led to some- -ahem-- mind-expanding music and ushered in his life-long interest in spiritualism, but when the Travelling Wilburys appeared, it was obvious where Harrison's strengths were. Yes, two of the Beatles are gone, but so too, are 40% of the Wilburys.
Thinking about the Beatles: Paul's melodic gifts were responsible for memorable bass lines. John's wit and sense of irony inspired a generation. George's rockabilly guitar and Eastern stylings broadened the groups work, but, I gotta tell you - Ringo Starr's playing may have influenced more musicians than the other three combined.
Thursday, December 06, 2001
DUCK! It looks as though Geraldo's Big Adventure is getting serious. Today's report has him hitting the Afghan carpet - bullets whizzing by. As Lucianne Goldberg, Judge Starr, and most of the NBC newsroom were here stateside, the leading suspects have been eliminated. Maybe Ashcroft's gang can round up a few others for questioning. Meanwhile -- stay safe!
Gallup's latest poll shows Bush's approval rating (89%) and most administration leaders and government institutions enjoying wide-spread support. But there's one group coming up decidedly short - the media (43%.)
A review of other polling data suggests that the low rating may be related to the anthrax scare, when many people said the news media overreacted, and the general confrontational role that the news media play in a democracy.
Yesterday's White House press briefing included this exchange -- as quoted by Lucianne.Com:
Helen Thomas: Ari, what makes the President -- I'm taking note of his wide-swinging threats in speeches recently. What makes him think that he has the right to go into a sovereign country and bomb the people?
MR. FLEISCHER: His threats?
Helen Thomas: Any country. Yes, he's --
MR. FLEISCHER: Would you like to be more specific?
Helen Thomas: Does he think he can go beyond Afghanistan or anywhere else?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President has made it clear to the American people that the United States, in the wake of an attack on our country, will defend itself. And as a result of defending ourselves, you can see what is happening in Afghanistan. The President has said that this is a war against terrorism because terrorists continue to pose a threat to the United States and to others around the world, and that he is involved in phase one of defending this country against terrorists, and he will continue to do so.
Helen Thomas: What gives him the authority to go into other countries and bomb them, which is what he is threatening to do?
MR. FLEISCHER: The right as the Commander-in-Chief to protect and defend the American people.
I wonder if the editors at Hearst, Ms. Thomas' employers were rolling their eyes, the way the rest of us were.
Wednesday, December 05, 2001
RINGLING BROS. BARNUM AND SIMPSON -Ecstasy Drug Ring Investigation! The sights were so familiar - news helicopters, police cars, blinking red lights and a phalanx of reporters huddled around a bank of microphones. Then, the word from the police: no arrest, no indictment, no nothing. And from O.J. Simpson lawyer, Yale Galenter: No pills found at Mr. Simpson's - or his car -or his body. A reporter asked, "What about the marijuana?" No. No marijuana. That story was apparently a leak from authorities that had no basis in fact. No arrests. Nothing. Oh. They did seize two boxes containing O.J.'s satellite TV equipment. The reporters broke down their own satellite equipment and moved on. Maybe next time.
A puzzled reader at andrewsullivan.com wonders how that California moonbeam was able to suit up for the Taliban, while our CIA wasn't able to find Al Qaeda in the Kabul phone directory.
Tuesday, December 04, 2001
Looks as though pistol- packing Geraldo Rivera will not get his chance to pop Osama Bin Laden after all, unless Bin Laden wanders out of his cave into Geraldo's hotel. Military contact: "Geraldo's paperwork is not in order, and it won't be in order until the war is over."
After months of speculation by Inside and Matt Drudge, the mysterious "IT" has finally been introduced-named Segway HT (Human Transporter). Frankly, I thought "Ginger" was more catchy - but what do I know. The marketing build-up may be more interesting than the actual product, but there is no doubt there is some techno-wizardry going on under that foot rest.
Segway's web site has a video showing a yuppified couple on their way to work sporting the his n' hers models worthy of the Saturday Night Live commercial parodists. Inventor Dean Kamen's vision of cities being redesigned to accommodate his people mover may be a tad lofty, but there's no doubt it will have utilitarian success in some quarters. And it looks like a lot o' fun to boot.
It suddenly occurred to me that before you can actually do this you have to actually learn it. So - posting may be a little slow while I bite off some chunks of HTML and maybe skim through the tutorial. Meanwhile - he's back:MIAMI — Federal agents searched O.J. Simpson's home early Tuesday as part of an investigation into an Ecstasy drug ring that also laundered money and stole equipment to activate satellite television signals.
I sure hope they know what they are doing, because it seems the government's track record at prosecuting O.J. has been - ummm - less than stellar. The recent 2 week(!) court proceeding over a traffic dispute--characterized by the O.J.-hungry press as "road rage"--ended in acquital. Fox News Channel has reported that a small amount of marijuana ("for personal use") has been seized at Mr. Simson's home, although no arrests have been made. For a law enforcement community so hell-bent on getting this guy - I wonder why.
