Biden Gets a Clue or Two

L. -V.P. Joe Biden, R.- Jeopardy host Alex Trebek

Vice President Joe Biden appeared on a special Teen Tournament edition of Jeopardy! The Obama/Biden razzle dazzle extended to the venerable game show with Alex Trebek, where the second in line to the Presidency was reduced to giving video clues about automobiles to those too young to exercise their franchise.


 

 Since the topic was about automobiles, this was probably intended as being a subtle contribution to the Obama 2012 Re-Election Campaign as it emphasized one of the accomplishments of the Administration, which was "saving" G.M. and Chrysler from bankruptcy by structuring a bankruptcy which gave a significant interest of both companies to the United Autoworkers union and in Chrysler's case, also to a foreign company like Fiat at a taxpayer discount. It reminds viewers of the mantra which Biden introduced "Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive." To again echo Biden: "It was a Big F***ing Deal."

 Pundits can be amazed that Biden actually had a clue for a short while. If only he would not give away clues so quickly. Biden's brash pronouncements on Meet the Press forced President Obama to stop his cynical charade of opposing same sex "marriage" too early, instead of just before the Democrat National Convention in Charlotte this September.

Sunset at the Penn Quarter

On a beautiful spring evening, I had the pleasure of spending some time before a dinner in the Penn Quarter enjoying the sunset at the Navy Memorial. Despite only having a smart phone camera and a hazy horizon, the twilight hues during the Golden Time shed a new light when focusing on a familiar part of the Federal City.

 

Although it was a bit further down "America's Main Street", the seeing the setting sun through the glass ceiling of the renovated Old Post Office was stunning.
 

The beautiful soft light on the National Archives was beautifully complemented by some of the fountains at the Navy Memorial.
 

My hometown walkabout allowed me to discover the name and present occupants of a distinctive building in the Penn Quarter. The building with turrets on Pennsylvania Avenue had been a hotel in the early 20th century but is now the home of the National Council of Negro Women.
 

The salmon colored stone looked awesome in the twilight. After a fine meal, it was a treat to see the  of the National Gallery of Art West Building.

 

It was reminiscent of the exterior of Night at the Museum, without the monkey business (aside that that is typical of the District of Calamity).

Composite Snickering

The Obama 2012 Re-Election effort launched a campaign to contrast how Americans lives would be different under a Romney Administration compared to Obama’s stated policies.  To illustrate this complete life cycle, Obama-istas proposed “The Life of Julia".

Alas, this campaign broke at the same time there was controversy concerning the use of composite characters in Obama’s first autobiography “Dreams From My Father.”  Fine print in  “Dreams From My Father”  does warn readers in fine print that some characters may be composites and time may be compressed, this is technique is highly unorthodox in auto-biographies, but hardly raises eyebrows in hagiographies.

Nevertheless, the inconvenient truth that the Obama campaign used a composite character to sell their message, much like the author of “Dreams From My Father”, it has inspired conservatives to have their own comedic comebacks with different framing.




It makes you wonder if Barack’s composite New York girlfriend was named “Julia” or something sounding similar.

It would be nice to be privy to hypothetical correspondences with Barack’s composite squeeze.  May they be as interesting as  “The Juliet Letters” by Elvis Costello and the Brodsky Quartet.



h/t: Misfit Politics

The Osteens' "Night" of Hope in Washington, DC

The Night of Hope was a New Wave revival meeting that was held is a largely filled National's Park in Washington DC. Due to inclement weather, the event was rained out on Saturday night and held on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. That shift of dates might explain the number of empty seats behind home plate as many VIPs may not have been able to move mountains to delay their return flights.

National's Park set up for Olsteen's Night of Hope from the upper deck.

Joel Osteen, the scion of charismatic Lakewood Church founder John Osteen, has pastored the Houston non-denominational mega-church since 1999 and helped them acquire the former Compaq-center as their new worship space. So the large setting was not problematic but the rain was.

Osteen lifts spirits by combining elements of an evangelical tent revival with a squeeky clean rendition of a rock concert. Even the Osteen's entrance to the stage was televised and generated excitement among the gathered crowd.

Joel, Victoria and daughter Alexandra Osteen's entrance to the Night of Hope

Much like a rock concert or a major league sporting event, the Night of Hope offered sensory overload with preaching, music, video, scrolling billboards...

Helicopter with live action Scoreboard for Night of Hope

and fireworks!

Fireworks for the Night of Hope as seen from the Upper Deck.

The fireworks were not as stunning as originally planned due to the rain delay, as this pyrotechnic display would have lit up the twilight sky.  Still, the fireworks bolstered the message of praise from the stage. 

Victoria and Joel Osteen testifying with son Jonathan playing guitar

Although there was a large gospel choir, the music ministry rocked out their Christian inspired pop.  One of the guitarists for Joel and Victoria's backup band included their son Jonathan. The Night of Hope included a headline performance by season eight American Idol standout Danny Gokey playing his hit country song "My Best Days Are Ahead of Me".

Danny Gokey singing "My Best Days Are Ahead of Me".

Danny Gokey shares his life experience which illustrate "My Best Days Are Ahead of Me".

The tune complimented the seeds of hope that were sowed during the Night of Hope.

 

The Night of Hope was truly a family affair.  Aside from Joel and Victoria in the lead, their son Jonathan and daughter Alexandria were prominently involved in the music ministry.

   

The Matriarch of the family, Dodie Osteen poignantly preached about how the power of prayer saved her from a dire cancer diagnosis over thirty years ago. 

Delores "Dodie" Osteen testified about the power of prayer and how 20 key healing scriptural passages allowed her to survive cancer for over 30 years.

Joel Osteen and his mother Dodie hugging backstage during the Night of Hope

 Joel also enlisted his half brother Justin's help to highlight an international ministry.  Justin  Osteen is a medical doctor who spends much of the year in Africa to help the under-served.  When the collection plates were passed to the crowd, they were encouraged to adopt a child in abstentia through monthly Champion of Hope donations through the Osteen Ministries.  At least the pitch was less maudlin than Sally Struthers schtick.

The Night of Hope incorporated some of the local evangelical non-denominational church partners through a string of declaratory "prayers".

Joel Osteen keynotes the Capital Region pastors Declarations

The highlight to the Night of Hope were the segments where Joel Osteen preached his positive message.  Part of the event was filmed for a Trinity Broadcast Network special.  But the last segment of the program began with that familiar mantra "This is my bible..."

Joel Osteen preaching

While there was not a symposia of deep theology, Osteen's message about forgiveness, self worth and being open to moments of destiny were welcomed words to a receptive audience.

[L-R] Joel, Alexandra, Jonathan and Victoria Osteen

Skewering Santorum with a Polemic Political Parody

As Rick Santorum bowed out of the race for the Republican Presidential Nomination, liberal feminists could not resist giving his conservative candidacy a final kick. The internet humor site Funny or Die hosted a video featuring Ashley Judd which skewered Santorum with an edgy parody "When to Abort a Candidacy".

The parody was well produced and the black humor certainly was sharp. Fox New's Bill O'Reilly thought that the skit comparing terminating a candidacy to an abortion would hurt Ashley Judd. The actress might be Missing (sic) some of the audience by pushing her politics in a polemic manner.




Some think that Ashley Judd would be insulated from offending an audience as she has been a well known liberal activist.  But one must wonder if Oprah Winfrey's downfall from the heights of her popularity was magnified by Oprah's entry into partisan politics by overtly supporting Barack Obama in 2008.  This loss of viewership has signficantly impacted her Oprah Winfrey Network's success.


What do you think?

Forcing Catholics Institutions Out of Charity Not Fine with US

The HHS final rule on qualified health plans imposes a Contraception Mandate that poses a poison pill for faithful Catholic and other institutions that believe that life begins at conception. Mark Rienzi, the Becket Fund For Religious Liberty attorney who represents Ave Maria University, Belmont Abbey College, Colorado Christian University and ETWN , is confident that the outcome in federal courts will come out the right way and protect religious liberty in America. However, if Rienzi’s optimism is misplaced, he believes that Catholics could end up engaging in civil disobedience against an unjust law.

  The civil disobedience with religious liberty protestors will not be like the sit-ins of the civil rights movement. Instead, Rienzi anticipates institutions not paying for the contraception, sterilizations and abortifacients. This would lead to crippling fines which eventually would put the charitable and educational missions out of existence. 


In a perverse way, such a shuttering of Catholic identity might be the aim of the Obama Administration. The Obama Administration budgetary proposal for FY2013 sought to limit the deductability of charitable contributions for those making over $250,000 a year, exactly the demographic which makes substantial gifts to non-profit causes. As for Catholic hospitals, they make up 15% of all bed-space in America and they are often the only provider in rural regions. If conscientious Christians cede the field due to the Contraception Mandate (or being fined out of existence), the federal government will dominate the health-care playing field and be a major step towards a single-payer system. 

It is not fine to force charitable institutions from living their faith by penalizing them for not acquiescing. It may be time to recall the Man of All Seasons, St. Thomas More who was a martyr for not submitting to an unjust law proffered from English King Henry VIII, the secular power that be.






h/t: CNSnews

Dick Clark–The Eternal Teenager Now a Teen Angel

Dick Clark in 2002 (age 73)

Dick Clark, a fixture of American popular culture for over six decades, died of a heart attack at age 82 following surgery. Clark was the host of American Bandstand from 1956 to 1989, versions of the network TV Game Show Pyramid from 1973-1988, as well as hosting Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve for 33 consecutive years.  Clark was know as the “World’s Oldest Teenager” as he kept from aging until he suffered a stroke in December 2004, which caused notable verbal and physical challenges.


While people will to fix our attention to Dick Clark’s perennial presence in front of the camera, it is worth considering how Clark was a shrewd an innovated businessman.  Clark owned an KGUC-FM in Santa Barbara during the 1960s and was the principal in pro broadcaster operator on KPRO in Riverside, California from 1962 to 1982. Clark produced American Bandstand from 1957 onwards. Amongst other shows, Clark produced: TV Bloopers and Practical Jokes, So You Think You Can Dance, the American Music Awards, the Academy of Country Music Awards, the Golden Globes Awards and, of course, Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.  Clark sold the production company in 2007 to Daniel Snyder for $175 million.

Clark began producing a rock and roll oriented New Year’s Eve Program in 1973 to compete with Guy Lombardo’s stodgy celebration.  But in the first year on NBC, the pre-recorded celebration was hosted by Three Dog Night. The second year’s Rockin New Years Eve was hosted by George Carlin, before Clark took over hosting and was broadcast ABC.


While Clark missed the New Year’s Eve 2005 due to his stroke, he reported ready for duty the next year.  Some viewers cringed because of his post stroke slurred speech, as they thought that it was not telegenic or they missed the myth of the eternal teenager. 

C- Dick Clark in 2009 (aged 79) 

 But New Year’s Eve is all about traditions, nostalgia with a side of hope.  Since Clark owned the production and had established himself, he could choose to do the countdown to midnight.  Although it did not sound like the Clark of before, I was struck that it was Clark’s ebullient enthusiasm that made Clark beloved as “the World’s Oldest Teenager”. May his good spirit be co-hosting at the Pearly Gates.

Space Shuttle Discovery’s Final Flight Over DC

People between-the-beltways were treated to the sight of the retired Space Shuttle Discovery on its final flight to the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles International Airport.  The Discovery was the most traveled space shuttle, having made 39 missions which totaled over one service year in space.








Many Washingtonians took a break before 10 am to see this fond farewell to flight by Discovery. The Discovery was piggy backed on top of a modified 747 jet on its trip from the Kennedy Space Center to Washington.  But it was not a direct point by point flight.  The Space Shuttle made several dramatic pass overs Washington, to fly by the Monuments on the National Mall, the NASA headquarters and Capitol Hill before landing at Dulles.

The flight was a bittersweet moment, as crowds spontaneously applauded when seeing the Space Shuttle, which had served the American manned space program for 27 years.  But it is sad to think that NASA does not have a replacement manned space craft ready.  So American space interests need to be served through Russian Soyuz spacelifts from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for the foreseeable future.

These triumphant pictures of the Space Shuttle flying by national landmarks will have an iconic appeal. It seems fitting that there are be photos of the Space Shuttle flying by the  White House, as the Obama Administration has effectively scrubbed the American Manned Space Program.

Now NASA can concentrate on helping Muslims feel better about their contributions to math and science. But on the bright side, Space X is a private American company which is set to make its first payload mission to the International Space Station on April 30th.

These final flights of the Space Shuttle are also a reminder of the politics of allocating NASA museum pieces.  The Atlantis will remain at Cape Canaveral, Washington was a natural pick.  New York and Los Angeles were also chosen to receive Space Shuttles.  Yet Houston, which has hosted the Johnson Mission Control Center for half a century was shut out, as decision makers seemed to be seeing red on electoral maps.

 Next week, the Smithsonian Institution will relinquish the Enterprise, the engine-less prototype Space Shuttle to New York City’s Intrepid Space-Air-Sea Museum, which will build a $100 million hanger for it.  This piggy back Enterprise flight ought to be better received than Air Force One’s joy ride over Manhattan in 2009 which created a panic by stunned spectators.

Keeping Politically Curious on Public Broadcasting

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down the ban on political advertising for public radio and television stations on a 2-1 vote.  But Judge Carlos Bea affirmed the ban on for profit companies advertizing goods and services.

The stated legal logic is:

Public issue and political advertisements pose no threat of ‘commercialization'..."Such advertisements do not encourage viewers to buy commercial goods and services. A ban on such advertising therefore cannot be narrowly tailored to serve the interest of preventing the 'commercialization' of broadcasting.

Be mindful that this is the Ninth Circuit, has a reputation of being the most overturned federal jurisdiction. But for this election cycle, prisoners of PBS might be praying for telethons rather than the onslaught of election ads.

In the abstract, this ruling may be a good thing for public broadcasters.  Conservatives have long felt that PBS and NPR slants markedly left in its coverage and sensibilities. It might be profitable for them to get paid for broadcasts.  But a close reading of the US Code indicates that public broadcast stations can not substantially relying on underwriting acknowledgments for funding their operations.



It might be interesting to learn how much underwriting spots cost, as it could be a cheap way for underdogs or even ideologically insurgent (read Republicans) to introduce their ideas to public broadcasting viewers. Of course, denial of political sponsors on public broadcasters could generate some earned media for campaigns as well as exposing the nearly translucent veil of impartiality by many public broadcasters.

While it is more of a political than an judicial issue, Minority Television Project v. FCC might spur a rethinking of the 1967 Public Broadcast Act in our information overload area and perhaps a retooling of the FCC itself by Congress. When there were only a few choices on the television dial, it made sense to have an alternative which supported niche programming.  Now cable, satellite, digital over-the-air multicasts and internet streaming offers an alluvia of choices for consumers.  In this changed media marketplace, it might make sense to rethink TV.

There are also some absurdities in Public Broadcasting.  It used to be that public broadcasters relied on the largess of wealthy individual underwriters (or their trusts) to sponsor favored programming like “Masterpiece Theater”.  Underwriting can now be done by corporations, but not to commercialize products.  So there tends to be warm fuzzy branding for the corporate sponsor, even with moving images-but no commercials (sic).  Really?

Public broadcasting is not a fledgling operation either.  Eighteen months ago, KCET in Los Angeles, one of the founding members of PBS in 1970, decided to become an independent public broadcaster because PBS wanted to charge $7 million a year for their West Coast flagship station’s broadcast rights, which was double the assessment of KOCE, This assessment comprised 5% of PBS overall budget.  The KCET executives may be ruing their decision to declare independence, as they had to sell their Hollywood Studios to the Church of Scientology for $45 million.  Alas, KCET’s new mixture of Al Jazeera English and BBC News has not helped, as contributions were down 41% in 2011.

When Juan Williams was unceremoniously fired by then NPR CEO Vivian Schiller, it was revealed that only 2% of National Public Radio’s budget came from federal earmarks.  If that's the case, then cutting Federal funding and allowing these public stations to establish alternate primary income streams should be simple.
Of course, this rosy budgetary situation for NPR greatly assisted from the $200 million endowment by the widow of McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc in 2003.  But NPR does not rest on it’s laurels for funding, as it was happy to accept $1.8 million from George Soros Open Society Foundation to hire 100 political reporters.  Public broadcasters have programming staples like “All Things Considered”, “and Morning Edition” on the radio and shows like “Sesame Street” and NOVA on PBS which could enhance bottom lines with merchandising agreements .  As it stands, the underwriting ads now are all but commercials.  The Minority Television Project case may facilitate a restructuring which allows stations to better support themselves and networks to underwrite their costly programming.