Tom Watson

Franken Sense and Mirth

Got my radio turned on. WLIB in Gotham, 1190 on the AM dial. Yes, it's noon on March 31st - the official debut of Air America, the new liberal radio network. And there's Al Franken, following JFK's inaugural speech, introducing his new show, The O'Franken Factor - and claiming that his show and the new network are a key part of "a battle for America itself." First guest is Bob Kerrey. Hilarious and interesting at the same time. Don't know if this will fly for the long term - critics who say that liberals are often too serious for entertainment value on the airwaves may well be right. But Al Franken just makes me laugh.

Condi to the Lions

Of course, Condoleeza Rice should testify under oath and in public before the historic 9/11 Commission. The public is nearly united in this sentiment. To avoid testimony while establshing an "All-Condi, All the Time" television strategy is obscene and unprincipled in the extreme. But what's really interesting to me, is the strategy involved.

I think the Administration has made a calculation that the Rice story will divert attention from the wide-ranging testimony before the Commission and its unavoidable conclusion - that the Clinton and Bush Administrations didn't do enough to address the gathering storm of al Qaeda. Rice is a brilliant academic famed for her Soviet studies, but I'm not sure she's politically savvy enough to see what's happening here under the guise of "protecting the principle of executive privilege."

And that is, Condi is being fed to the lions by her fellow Bushies - you know, that band of brothers that values loyalty above all else. She's taking the rap, ruining her reputation for a political gain by the President. Rice takes the heat, Rice takes the eventual fall. It's not principle, it's pure politics, just like the smear-job on Richard Clarke.

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Breaking News CNN - White House will allow Condoleezza Rice to testify publicly under oath before 9/11 commission, a senior administration official tells CNN.

Let Chowder Flow

At last, our long national nightmare is over. This morning, over my third cup of coffee, there it was in the NYT - the news we've all yearned for. (Where was my CNN Breaking News alert anyway?) Yes, the four-month strike at the Oyter Bar has been settled! In a winter made longer by the absence of $5 New England Clam Chowder at the takeaway window, vaulted white-tilted ceilings, grouchy New Yorkers scouring Daily News sports section while slurping down Blue Points, the smoky (in memory) saloon with its vast wine list, the freebie hot cross buns in Lent (just in time!) this is welcome news indeed. Note to self: maybe even a cure for this vague and creeping bi-polar ague of last few months? Hmm...must self-medicate with chowder to see. Who's up for lunch on Monday?

Iraq Obsession

Iraq defines George W. Bush. Iraq will either reelect him or defeat him. On September 12th, 2001, while more than 2,000 of my fellow New Yorkers were still buried in the ruins on the west side, President Bush was thinking of Iraq. Finally back in Washington, with his security advisors linking the attacks to al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, the President demanded of White House counterterrorism expert Richard Clarke that he explore every possible link to Saddam Hussein and Iraq.

Clarke, a Republican, has dared to speak up in a new book that is badly timed for the Administration. Now, the White House has launched an attack to paint Clarke as another in a line of disgruntled, secert partisans. Clearly, abject political fear. Ask Valerie Plame. Or Paul O'Neill.

Better yet, ask this soldier about the White House obsession. Ask about nearly 600 comrades dead, thousands maimed - all the while the al Qaeda movement metastisizes. Ask the dead of Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and Spain. And ask the dead of New York.

Ministry of Lies

As Chervokas points out, the news media is just beginning to wake up to the fact that they've been on cruise control during much of the Bush Administration. After 9/11 and during the Iraq War, American journalists came as close as I've ever seen them to constituting an official news agency of a ruling party. After the debacle of Iraq, the shocking Federal deficit, and the beginnings of a serious (and deliciously vicious) campaign for the Presidency, you'd think America's ink-stained classes would wise up.

Alas, a major story on the Bush Bureau of Disinformation has been very lightly covered in the media. Thirty-second "news" spots were produced by the Bush Administration on our dime purporting to fairly "cover" the $400 billion prescription drug program - which has since ballooned by $150 billion. These "news" spots featured actors posing as reporters "Karen Ryan" and "Alberto Garcia," who "reported" that the Medicare legislation made prescriptions both cheaper and more available to millions.

Funny that Federal law prohibits taxpayer-financed propaganda. But as one regular contributor to this site wondered in an email, isn't strange that the U.S. media failed to pick up on this embarassing episode in a bigger way? Not really - it's because the press is embarassed at just how far the Administration's disinformation hook has been sunk into their great collective gullet.

My Dear Sir

This Weblog is now two months old, and it's the fourth blog I've either created or had a major hand in creating over the last three years. It has also been the most personal - the only one of the four to express my own idiosyncratic, biased, cynical, and occasionally misanthropic view of the world. I've read a lot of essays and posts on the importance of blogs, how they're the "new e-mail," and the next step in the digital revolution, and so on. And that may be so.

My experience with this blog, however, has been nothing like the others. It has been less revolution, more devolution - a welcome return to the past. It has been about a group of friends and colleagues engaging in civil discourse on a variety of topics, about keeping up with people via the well-considered written word. That is to say, it is like the correspondence of the 19th century, almost Victorian in nature. This blog - and some of the ones you'll find linked to on the left - signals a partial move away from always on, instant-messaged, over-wired and often painfully thin "communications" of the digital age. The discussions here are civil and respectful, meaningful conversations among people who care enough to take the time to argue and to write. And while the technology is terrific, the dialogue is what matters.

Because all of us lead complicated lives, we don't often have the opportunity to exchange ideas in meaningful ways. We rarely meet face to face. Business calls, family calls, diversions call. Years ago, friends would bridge those gaps with considered, long-running correspondences, spanning time and distance. These Weblogs do the same thing, they draw us together - and perhaps, they give us a little extra strength.

Paul Allen's Music

If I had a few billion laying around, it might be tempting to create a musical playground like the one Paul Allen has built in downtown Seattle. The Experience Music Project lives in a multi-colored turtle shell palace designed by Frank O. Gehry. Like the Space Needle in whose shadow it lies and the two-stop monorail that brings you to its door, the operating question for EMP remains: "why?"

In Allen's case, I suspect there are two answers - because he can, and because of an enduring love for rock music that he believes is deserving of both public adoration and exploration. That affection is obvious in the lavish setting for EMP. Given that its patron is a Microsoft co-founder, the technology involved is marvelous, especially the lighting and acoustics. And while confusing visitors at first, Gehry's design overcomes his obsession with natural-form exteriors with a floor plan that leads people (eventually) to where they want to go.

There are basically three parts to EMP. To dismiss the least important quickly - a ground floor cafe, lounge, and gift shop are fine for what they are. On a visit this week, the service was friendly, the coffee terrific (no surprise), and the food okay.

The other two facets of this public attraction are central to whether it succeeds or fails. The main floor is devoted to exhibits, mainly from Allen's personal collection of 80,000 rock artifacts. Dominating the floor is a three-story interactive pillar called Roots and Branches, and created from hundreds of guitars. You can pick up headphones and listen to the guitars "played" by a series of pick-holding robotic arms. Strange, expensive, and as a musician, ultimately sad. Many of the models on the pillar were guitars I'd kill to have in my little home recording studio.

In side rooms were the main collection, and several special exhibits. The main collection is dominated, of course, by one James Marshal Hendrix of Seattle, Washington. It's what you'd expect - posters, clothing, Stratocasters behind glass, and headphones for listening in. Oh, and you could play around with the original mix of "Ezy Ryder," recorded shortly before his death. There's similar gear and period objects - as well as digital media - in sections on Dylan, Janis Joplin, Chuck Berry and many more.

More of the same elsewhere. In the Beatles exhibit Hofners and Rickenbackers and Ludwig kits sit behind glass. I couldn't help feeling badly for the instruments, somehow. The Springsteen room was different. A map of the New Jersey Turnpike snaked around the walls of the room, and video screens, listening station, and posters tracked Springsteen's career. But the highlight here were the photographs of Pam Springsteen, which clearly relate to her brother's career of course, but also stand on their own as pwerful documents of American backroads. I know some of the roads in the photographs - roads like Route 539 in New Jersey - and they've changed dramatically since these stark black and white pictures were taken in the 70s and early 80s, all condos and McMansions now.

Still, it's a museum and despite a core subject matter than I dearly love, a fairly dull one at that. Until you get to the top floor.

That's where the "experience" portion of EMP comes to life. Nestled in the eves are a couple dozen recording studios, filled with gear you can actually play. A good friend and I killed the better part of two hours up there, playing around in what is essentially the world's greatest karaoke machine. Some rooms had a full kit - guitar, keyboard, drums - others just single instruments. And others were vocal studios, where you could be coached by the likes of Heart on how to handle "Crazy on You." Basically, it was great fun - even though I've got my own gear at home. Smacking around the drum kits and messing with the jams, time flew. A great place for kids and those with a bit of child still in them.

Of course, as an amateur musician I can do all of that without the $20 admission fee down at the Guitar Center - and often spend a Saturday afternoon doing just that. So does EMP answer the question "why?" Not quite. There just isn't a reason to back that often for the exhibits. And amateur musicians will soon graduate to their own instruments and gear. Eventually, I'd love to see the EMP concept evolve into an online center for source material on rock - a true online lending library for students, the public, and scholars. That truly worldwide effort could be anchored by the museum. Till then, EMP won't quite live up to Allen's lofty goals. If you're in Seattle EMP is worth an afternoon. But as Jimi suggested, I'd rather "pick up my axe and fight like a bomber."

McCain-Kerry

So when Dick Cheney attacks John Kerry on his record on national defense, who leaps to defend him today? None other than John McCain. This thing gets more curious every day. Of course, McCain follows up by saying he has "no plans" to join the ticket, switch parties, or even become an independent. But he clearly despises Cheney's lies, and won't hesitate to back up his friend and fellow veteran. I'm not sure so this isn't out of the realm of possibility now. Today, Joe Biden endorsed a Kerry-McCain ticket. The one big factor McCain will have to weigh is that if he runs, he wins, and his arch-enemy is blown away into the failed historical footnote category. Hard to pass up.

Choose the Moment

A quick thought - let's see if you agree. By now we've all seen the dozens of "boner drug" ads on the television, and many of us have had to answer some interesting questions from the kids. The most effective - the ad, not the drug - is the Cialis campaign. You know, "choose the moment" because it stimulates a 36-hour window of good blood flow to the nether regions. But in the medical disclaimer at the end, the announcer says this:

Although a rare occurrence, men who experience an erection for more than 4 hours should seek immediate medical attention.

And I'm thinking: that's the main message of the ad, the pitch itself, not a real medical disclaimer. And, in fact, I think it's a brilliant piece of marketing.

Error, John Kerry

Score it a big E in the scorecard for John Kerry. I believe that Kerry's embrace of the "foreign leaders want me to beat Bush" line is both bad politics and bad policy, and I'd recommend that the Senator get off of this tack immediately.

It's no surprise that Americans don't want leaders from other countries to tell them how to vote; frankly, it rankles. Sure, Kerry has some international support - particularly in Europe, where both governments and citizens want a return to full diplomatic enagagement. President Bush's diplomatic record is one of dismal failure.

But Kerry is making a serious mistake in using overseas governments against President Bush. Spain's new prime minister, Josi Luis Rodrmguez Zapatero, is not exactly a model of fortitude, creating a poor example of creating a winning scenario in brutal terrorist bombing - "you attack us, we withdraw." And Americans from the days of Washington traditionally recoil from international meddling in domestic politics.

No - Kerry needs to confront the security issue head on, on American soil, with an American point of view and a willingness to reconnect to the world. Claiming foreign support for his election campaign is a big mistake.