Calls for Speculation

I got an email from another Wire fan who asks:

Could that Stephen Glass character really be making shit up? Its being telegraphed so ham-handedly that there's got to be a twist.

This would be Scott Templeton he is referring to. In the second episode, the Sun runs a bullshit/feel-good-by-feeling-bad article about a kid in a wheelchair (allegedly shot with a stray bullet) named EJ trying to bum a ticket to the game on Orioles opening day. Clark Johnson's character Gus Haynes (the sole reason I am getting into this season's expansion to the newsroom so far) cannot find any information to back up this EJ story but he gets overruled and the story gets run. I have no idea whether the story is a fake or not but my prediction is that the kid is not totally fake, but was himself lying to Templeton, if it ever comes up again.

And since everything in The Wire (except Rawls' homosexuality) comes up again, that's my prediction. Templeton will get even looser with the facts when he realizes that he has Whitting's ear.

Since we are on the topic of newspapers, even a fictionalized one, I want to put down my thoughts on something that I have been thinking about lately. Remarks by David Simon were the jumping-off point. Simon was criticizing the internet for diminishing the significance and viability of daily newspapers. It has been a conundrum for daily papers to figure out how to compete with the internet. Subscription sales have not worked and people are not excited to pay for content. TimesSelect bombed and now even the Wall Street Journal is online without a subscription. People will not buy what they think should be free. It irks the shit out of real journalists that people consider their work to be "free".

But that's a misperception by journalists. It isn't that readers think the information is free, it's that we think it's already been paid for. In my mind, all the advertisements I have to wade through pay for the content. The cost of my home subscription covers the cost of getting the paper to my door: the paper, the printing costs, the delivery. The Internet obviates the need for those costs: no paper, no printing, no delivery (except for the computer that I bought). Meanwhile the paper is still selling advertising on-line. In my mind, they can afford the content, and I don't need to pay for the ancillary production costs.

Another effect of the "democratization" of the web is that the readers can figure out for themselves how hard, or easy, producing content is. The mythical/libidinal newsroom suddenly doesn't seem so special. Plus papers can't even seem to be on top of the news anymore. Nor do they seem to want to be. I don't think papers have the desire to truly be all things to all people. The NYT might resent Daily Kos for its depth and breadth of political issues, but do they want be DK? I doubt it. They wouldn't make the ad revenue they make being the NYT.

Anyway, these are just some thoughts.

A Strange Story

Preoccupied, as I am, with certain legal wranglings in The South, but unable to obtain any new information this morning, I wandered over to the Montgomery Advertiser, and came across this story. Three white teenagers are being charged as juveniles (to the displeasure of the Sons of Confederate Veterans) in the vandalism of a statue commemorating . . . Confederate veterans. What struck me as strange was:

(1) the decision to charge them as juveniles. I wonder if black teens would have been given the same leniency.
(2) the fact that they painted the soldiers on the face with black paint
(3) the fact that they painted "NT 11 11 31", referring to Nat Turner and the date of his execution.

I won't go so far as to say that what they did was cool, but you've got to admit Alabama has come a long way when white teens are defacing Confederate statues in honor of Nat Turner.

UPDATE: Unless of course the kids were doing it to frame some blacks for the crime. Still the details seem a bit too sophisticated for that. Who knows.

Awesome

And I am not being facetious. I am genuinely pleased that the Machinists have endorsed Mike Huckabee in the Republican primary.

If you pay attention to this stuff, you may recall a feature article in the NYT magazine two years ago, juxtaposing Andy Stern (the "new boss") and Tom Buffenbarger (the "old boss"). However flattering the piece may have been to Andy, it sure wasn't flattering to Tom, portrayed, as he was, as flying around the country in a private jet while the machine shops of American were snuck down to Ciudad Juarez like the Baltimore Colts were whisked to Indianapolis, only every night.

Anyway, I wasn't left with a terribly warm impression of the man myself. BUT you have to credit him with exactly the kind of outside-the-box thinking that Stern has been advocating these past few years. Promising not to back Democrats qua Democrats, Stern has said that the labor movement should consider all candidates willing to work with Labor. Buffenbarger is the first one to actually go there. Touche.

The Things You Can Learn

Now that I have a second child who demands internet searching at the drop of a hat (but who can't say carcaradontaurus or F-4 Phantom yet), I have learned a lot of about "tucks", "buh-doh-dahs", "dump tucks" and "jij-uhs" (that last one is "diggers"). We came across this photo tonight, of a giant dump truck getting a tire change, and it really resonated with me. That dump truck is me.

I also learned about a product called Tractor Jackets. Who knew? It seems unnecessary, and yet, how would I know? It now reminds me of auto parts place near my grandparents, which, during my childhood, advertised "car bras". I was too embarassed to ask what it meant. Would that I had Google back then. Or a Google. Anyway, I was so disappointed when I found out what they were. But I also felt liberated to ask more questions that I didn't know the answer to.

Best Use of Office E-mail Award

As with most offices, we more than occasionally get office-wide emails that are annoying and pointless but which cause a lot of people to hit Reply All. I am disappointed that this one hasn't gotten a response yet:

Subject: BARITONE TROMBONE PLAYER?
I have placed a music book entitled "Cool Yule" in the kitchen on the *candy* table. It contains 14 Easy Christmas Solos for a Baritone Trombone player. A gift gone awry, my daughter plays piano not Trombone. Please feel free to take it home if you know someone who might put it to use.

Overactive Imagination

I saw the headline

Romney attacks McCain at Republican debate

and for two brief seconds, I thought, "Oh my God, Romney lost it. It's like that tiger mauling those kids on Christmas" and then I realized that the Reuters headline editor was just excited.

Oh, by the way, I've got a new candidate.

Wire Predictions

Another night shot. Oh well. Let's see if I can redeem it with some clairvoyant Wire predictions. I have watched four seasons plus 2 episodes of Season 5, but I will try not to be a spoiler on that Ep 52. (This is inspired, modestly, by the Freakonomics article on the NYT site today).

1. Michael will kill Omar. This is based on the fact that Omar saw Michael having a meeting with Marlo in that dingy courtyard last season. "Just a kid," he says. Incidentally, back in Season 1, when he and Brandon and that sick-up boy that gets killed (Joe?) are sitting on the brick steps, and a woman comes up and asks "Mr. Omar" for some dope to get her through til she gets her check, the actress is the same woman who play Michael's mom, and Omar signals to a boy, "Yo Mikey" to give her some dope. I think this is an accidental coincidence, and not "the wire", but you never know on this show.

2. Cheese may turn on Prop Joe (with a little help from Marlo). I think his little skulking bit at the co-op meeting means he thinks he should get his own property.

3. Daniels will get caught up in a police corruption scandal that impedes his rise to the top. Remember a few seasons ago when Burrell threatened him, and he expressed concern to his wife Marla, in the first season, that the old Western District ways might come back to haunt him. That will be sad.

4. The "Rawls is gay" storyline may not go anywhere. They only have 10 episodes this season, and I don't know how they are going to fit it all in. (rawls + omar? Omar would never stoop that low)

5. A cop will get killed, and it will probably be Walker, who will be lauded as a hero or some shit. That's only because they don't have Herc to put on a pedestal anymore.

6. Clay Davis will not avoid indictment but he will take down everyone he can with him (see #3 above, and possibly prove me wrong on #4). Or maybe he will cop to some little thing, and be out in 4 months to become the top-rated radio host in Baltimore, ala Ed Norris.

7. I think we are going to see Kima's old woman Cheryl back again (she's a TV journalist, remember?), which is unfortunate, because she's annoying.

More as the season develops.

Gentlemen, May I Join You?

Its out there. "Feminists" saying they have to stand by their woman when the shit is down. Here's an Obama supporter rallying to Hillary's defense at Salon. Let's just say, I am less than persuaded. And since I threatened to abandon my gender if women rallied to Hillary just because she's being picked on, I need to ask you guys: Is there room for me on that side of the gender gap? I know I am not a great candidate, having borne children and all (I promise not to do that again!), but I don't hear about any men whining that Chris Matthews is mean so that's why they voted for Clinton.

So.Annoyed.

By the way, Frances Kissling has this good riposte on why she still isn't supporting Hillary.

Although I have never felt like throwing my lot in with Hillary on account of all her "difficulties".

Off The Rails

The title of this post refers to this blog, not to the Obama campaign, which I will get to in a second. I started off the year fearing that I would hardly post at all (see, e.g., December 2007), and here I am blogging my butt off. Only not about my typical whimsical and lovely nonsense. I have been very centered on the Democratic primary campaign, and I have more to say. On one hand, I recognize that this may be boring-ish for some people, but (on the other) I think I know my readers, and you are as rabidly interested in this as I am, or else we wouldn't be such dear friends. So, back to New Hampshire.

First of all, this is hardly a loss for Obama. Less than a few weeks ago, he was down by double-digits, and instead he lost be 3 percentage points. Isn't that less than the typical margin of error in a statistical poll? Right on, Obama! And as I said before, I think that if Clinton is going to win this ultimately (although I hope she doesn't), she needs more of a trial than she was prepared for. I gotta say, I am SO annoyed by this idea that her little teeny fake nervous breakdown gave her a bump among the Women Exactly Like Her voting bloc. She can cry on command! What a skill for our President to have. You may recall, I am NOT down with the "Girlfriend in Chief" model of campaigning. Please don't tell me that "women" love this, or I may forsake my gender.

And as a tangential correllary*, this reminds me how much Baby Boomers annoy me. Don't ask me why I thought of this. Those of you who also hate Baby Boomers probably understand instinctively where I am going with this, and also can't quite articulate what the bridge is. Here's the bridge: Hillary. She's Woman. She's Boomer. The world is hers for the taking. She has so many "good opportunities" - she's just bursting to unload them on us. I am so tired of that generation (most of whom disavow the rest strongly) claiming they can fix things in this crazy mixed up world. No, you can't. Its messed up. Stop pretending you are a realist and then feeding us horseshit.

Okay, I have clearly lost my train of thought here. So back to an even more annoying obsession of mine: The Wire. Season 5 debuted this past Sunday, and I didn't even mention it because I figured, if you don't watch it yet, you probably aren't going to start now. And that's your damn loss. I will accept you back into my good graces if you watch just one other season of this show without me having to harangue you further. Then I will give you my generous and brilliant thoughts on this season 5. (Actually, I can't, because I watched an episode ahead, and I would feel bad if I accidentally spoiled it for you, so Mr. Scobie will just have to suffer my brilliance alone).

* Mathematicians: Can something be both a tangent and a correllary? Or are they the same thing?

I Am Not Alone

Thanks, KL, for your supportive comment. It's nice to know someone is reading. And since I know at least one reader ain't bored by this topic, here's a bit more. Members of the AFSCME Executive Board (7 of 33) have written an open letter to AFSCME President Gerald McEntee asking him to refrain from attacking Senator Obama and using union funds/staff to engage in public disparagement of the Senator. Noteworthy, to me, is the admission that AFSMCE endorsed Clinton primarily because they expected her to be the front runner, and wanted to back the right horse, so to speak.

This bolsters my view that Labor's beef with Obama is not that he's anti-union, but that he ain't getting bought by Labor. If we can get his support for free, then why are we begging him to take our money?

The flip side, i.e. Labor's argument, is that Obama is taking $2300 from every rich person he meets, but that teachers, firefighters, and home care workers don't have that kind of money. Unions can pool their members' money to support candidates that support issues for working people. It's an argument, but that's all it is. It isn't borne out by the practice. Politicians take money from unions, AND from rich people, and then do what they do. I think its worth trying a different way for once.

UPDATE: It looks like the members of Culinary workers local 226 agrees with me.

Everyone's a goddamn pundit

I had an irksome conversation with a law clerk in our office today where he expressed doubt that Obama even supports the Employee Free Choice Act (this legislation proposes to strengthen union organizing, and it’s a no-duh Vote Yes for Democrats). The law clerk has “inside knowledge” that Obama is not pro-union.

Obama does, in fact, support EFCA, and other pro-union, pro-working people solutions. At least, he says he does. And he did co-sponsor the damn bill in the Senate. So I did a tiny amount of research to figure out why Labor people think Obama is "the most conservative candidate on the Democratic side", at least on labor issues.

Most of the web/news coverage concerns Obama's almost-perfect record on labor issues or the fact that Obama has called out Clinton on NAFTA/CAFTA and Edwards on his refusal to condemn the right-to-work law in NC. Not exactly a right-wing smoking gun, if you ask me.

When I dug a little deeper, I found what may be the problem: Obama sent out a campaign letter where he seems to have called unions (and Emily's list) "special interests", and eschewed 527 organization's funds. DailyKos took issue (in a post that is reminiscent of the AFSCME video I posted back in March), as did Working Life and Politico.

Help me out here. How is being against "soft money funding" the exact same thing as being "anti-union"? And since when did buying politicians do shit for labor unions? Labor has been paying through the nose for years for the privilege of getting shafted over and over again. Millions of members' dues are chasing after politicians who have failed to strengthen labor laws, appoint pro-worker regulatory bodies, raise the minimum wage, stop jobs from moving overseas or borders or improve healthcare.

Labor thinks the candidates' interests are their interests. So fundraising is what Labor cares about, because that's what the candidate cares about. They lash out at another candidate who says, I want to end that kind of fundraising - as thought that were a labor issue. It's not a labor issue, it's a political issue. They hope the candidates they spend for will reciprocate, but there's no real historical basis for that hope.

Just as with the Labor's retrograde environmental views, Labor is on the wrong side on the issue of campaign finance reform. They think being able to throw their money around gets them somewhere in elections, but the reality is, they are always outspent, always outgunned, by employers and industry groups, who have more money and far less scruples about how widely they distribute it.

So I am not persuaded yet that Obama is anti-union or anti-worker. Of course, for professional reasons, I can't really share this post with anyone in my world who might be able to contradict me, but I am infuriated that "my people" are acting like mini-Joe Trippis instead of worker advocates. I think that there's a lot of sour grapes about lining up behind the wrong candidate too early, another common mistake Labor makes. Let me know if you know something different....

I Love This Sh*t

I love election days like its Christmas all over again. It's like a roller coaster where most of the day, its all ascendant. When you don't know who's winning, it's all up up up. And then usually there's the huge plunge that is so hard to take that it's nauseating. But then there's tonight, where the coaster has launched right off the rails, and the feeling in my stomach is all butterflies.

And this isn't just corny love of Obama. It's just so damn exciting that this Presidency is close to over, and there's a chance that there might be - not just relief from the awfulness - a corner could be turned.

I am excited for Obama, but I also think that even if Clinton comes out on top in the end, she will be a much stronger candidate for all of this. She has to fight for this, not just assume the throne. She has to earn this by doing something other than putting up with Bill's philandering for all those years.

And Huckabee is no shock to me at all. Timothy Egan in the NYT ("Two Buck Huck") has a good rap on how Huck got where he is. What he doesn't say is that this was implicitly predicted by Tom Frank in What's The Matter With Kansas? You had to wonder when the wingers would get sick of being chewed up and spit out. And while the Republicans are freaking out about Huckabee, denouncing him, the smart ones will get in there and just start buying up the store. Huck's gotta be buyable, right?

I didn't just write all that to show I am still a political cynic after all.

My thoughts on Edwards: I agree with his class critique, think he's a good guy, would be cool with him as a candidate. But I actually worry that his association with class issues and the labor movement prevents him from taking leadership on stuff that Labor hasn't dealt with/doesn't like. What am I talking about? Specifically, a lot of unions are at the back of the pack on environmental issues, because they see environmental regulations as anathema to job growth and bread-and-butter, rank-and-file American jobs. They want drilling in ANWAR, no fuel efficiency standards, etc. Not all of them, of course, but there just isn't a mainstream labor-environment platform out there that I hear from Edwards. And just as I am tired of 7 years of anti-worker bullshit from Bush, I am also tired from 7 years of sharp-edged, soft-minded, cannibalistic class rhetoric.

Maybe I just need a sabbatical.

Just Wrong

I just saw a license plate that said JRNYR(heart)X (Journey Rocks), and the plate holder said "I Would Rather Be At A Journey Concert".

Not acceptable.

How Did I Do?

Last night's blog post got me wondering, how did I do on last year's resolutions? From last year:

4. New Year's Resolutions. Did you make any? I almost never do. I consider it as sign of my own honesty to myself. I am probably not going to change very much, and certainly not in a substantial enough way to satisfy something as specific as a New Year's resolution. I have some New Year's aspirations though. I would like to blog more. Here's a reach: I would like to join the Y, or at a minimum, start doing some crunches so that my baby belly bag starts to go away. I would like Quinn to start sleeping through the night. I would like Liam to stay in his own bed, quietly all night. In other words, I am going to make New Year's resolutions for other people, whom I am legally permitted to make resolutions for.

Actually, I didn't do too badly. I joined the Y and was pretty good about going for more than 6 of the 12 months. I have dropped off this past 2 months but it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be, so I may try it again this year. Quinn sleeps from 7:30pm until 6:00am (with a margin of 30 minutes on either side). Liam sleeps all night on the couch, which isn't ideal, but at least it's not our bed. And I did blog more. In 2007, I wrote 214 posts, whereas 2006 only saw 117 posts. Given the poor showing in December, I don't know if I will be able to keep up that pace in '08. I will see what I can do.

Innovations in Dental Hygiene

In keeping with the spirit of the day, herewith my new year's resolutions:

1. Floss more*
2. Figure out what it means to add more fiber to one's diet, without actually eating Uncle Sam cereal
3. "Develop an interest" (This means "hobby", not "lover")
4. Stay politically idealistic in this election cycle until at least South Carolina, possibly all the way until February 6
5. Devise a system for organizing all the crap on my desk at home
6. Get other adult members of my household to join me in more assiduously disposing of compostables in a receptacle from whence, or within which, composting can occur**

That's about all I can think of.


*Me hubby and I are often (at least after either of us has a dentist's appointment)musing how much dental priorities have changes since even just our young adulthood. Flossing and "deep cleaning" are the rage now. Do you ever remember them doing that 3-4-3, 4-5-6 measuring five years ago? It suggests that Dental Medicine is more art than science, or is at least 50% alchemy and 20% guesswork. My certainty about this were heightened when my new dentist offered me a glass of wine to ease the anxiety of getting a filling recently (sub-footnote: I really like my new dentist).

** This gives me an idea: Mr. Scobie, I will abide by any system of organization you impose on me, for BOTH my desk and my dresser, if you agree to put all food waste in the green bin. Think about it. You have until January 6 (The Twelfth Day of Christmas) to accept or, less likely, reject my offer. (sub-footnote: I know you are wondering why I don't just wander around the manor property to find Mr. S and ask him myself. It's a good question, but mainly it's because it isn't worth the 20 steps that it entails, and I won't remember to ask him when I am done typing this.)

What Have I Been Doing?

It's not like y'all have been clamoring for me, but a neighbor did say the other day, "Hey, you remind me of a blogger I used to read," so I thought I would try to get back on the horse. Things have been very very very busy. How, exactly? Not sure. Here's an incomplete list of the things I have been doing for the past few weeks:

1. Working

2. Throwing up (no, I am not pregnant. We all had the stomach flu last weekend)

3. Avidly following the "Mess in Mississippi". Basically the WSJ Law Blog and several other blogs know when Mr. Scobie is traveling to the Deep South before I do. I am not linking to them because I don't want any of them finding their way back to me. I won't be commenting on it, and if Mr. S objects to this paragraph, I will take it down.

4. Following the Writers' Strike:



5. Following the upcoming caucus with growing glee.

6. Preparing for Christmas.

7. Researching soup recipes.

That's about it. If I ever have anything interesting to say again, I will let you know.

Cracking Myself Up

Enjoy the family Christmas greetings by clicking HERE.

For the Unenlightened

Non-University of Chicago graduates are probably scratching their heads slightly at the comment by Steve after the post below. What is it with these Chicago people? So proud of their nerdiness. Geesh, I was a nerd in college too. (Thought balloon does not count if you were not a nerd. But since I don't know any non-nerds, I am not sure what you people think when you read Steve's comment). Let me give you a little taste of the ambrosia that draws the nerds in. Here's an admissions essay for the U of C:

Modern improvisational comedy had its start with the Compass Players, a group of University of Chicago students, who later formed the Second City comedy troupe. Here is a chance to play along. Improvise a story, essay, or script that meets all of the following requirements: It must include the line “And yes I said yes I will Yes” (Ulysses, by James Joyce).

• Its characters may not have superpowers.
• Your work has to mention the University of Chicago, but please, no accounts of a high- school student applying to the University—this is fiction, not autobiography.
• Your work must include at least four of the following elements:
• a paper airplane
• a transformation
• a shoe
• the invisible hand
• two doors
• pointillism
• a fanciful explanation of the Pythagorean Theorem
• a ventriloquist or ventriloquis
• the Periodic Table of Elements
• the concept of Jeong
• number two pencils

I went there and I am not even sure what all those things are (but ventriloquis is not a word). However, I feel reassured that I can stop grousing that Chicago has gotten easier to get in to.

The Nerdling

I really thought my first kid would be the nerdy (nerdier?) one. With his encyclopedic knowledge of military aircraft and paleo-historical creatures, his better-than-strong vocabulary has fully bloomed. But Thing 2 is sure giving Thing 1 a run for his money in the nerd department. At 16 months, the Q-ball is a complete bookworm. This is a common site (sorry about the photo quality - he's hard to sneak up on):


In case you are wondering what's going on in this picture, Q is "reading" a book on the couch. Every day, one by one, he pulls all the books off the shelf and leafs through them, sometimes humming or "talking" to himself. He chases us around the house, thrusting books at us, saying "mmm....mmm....mmmm....mmmm" until we finally stoop to read him something. Here's a better picture:
Dig the sweater vest?

Barely Holding It Together

That title of this post could refer to a number of things, including my weekend. I won't dwell on my weaknesses as a parent (holding it together until I dropped a full mango lasse on my foot and then almost crying like a baby), but rather discuss The One Show To Rule Them All. Yeah, The Wire.

Today, Season 4 was released on DVD. I pre-ordered it, so y'all will have to buy me something different for Christmas. I thought I could let it pass without mentioning, but UBM pointed out that there's at least one Wire "prequel" on Amazon. Pretty inside joke, probably improvised. There are two others you can get from the Season 4 DVD page.

Season 5 comes out January 6. You haven't heard the last of this. Please just watch it. Sheesh.

UPDATE: Okay, so I watched all three of them. They are like little love letters to Wire fans. Pure insider stuff, just meant to give us more about our favorite characters.