Lubbock Left

I’ll be on Todd Klein’s radio show on KRFE AM 580 Monday Morning from 10-11AM to discuss the election returns from Saturday and whatever else comes up.

This will be my second appearance on the show. The last time was in February, and we discussed the intersection of technology and politics.

I’m looking forward to the show, and I hope you’ll tune in!

Sometimes I turn the car radio to conservative AM talk radio because I hate myself and love heartburn.

On my to lunch today, I actually heard Rush Limbaugh attack the idea of “hope,” which one might argue is the primary message of Obama’s campaign. Rush used a Nietzsche quote (of all things) to back himself up, and got into it with a caller who was saying that hope kept him alive for 52 years.

The whole exchange had Rush looking like the bully that he is. I understand the Rovean strategy of “attack your opponent’s strengths,” but some concepts are simply unassailable.

Good luck with your battle against hope, wingnuts.

Lots of good mainstream media coverage of Bill Clinton’s visit to Lubbock:

Lubbock Avalanche-Journal Photo Gallery
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal Slideshow
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal speech coverage
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal audience coverage
KCBD (local NBC affiliate)
EverythingLubbock
Fox 34

Mmm… that’s good media!

And there is a bonus news piece about the Obama meeting I mentioned yesterday at Fox 34’s website as well.

I was a guest on local talk radio for the first time in my life today. Thanks, Councilman Todd Klein, for having me on the Todd Klein show this morning! We discussed the intersection of politics and technology, which is probably in my list of top 3 favorite things to talk about.

I am still evaluating the experience. It was a positive one, to be sure, and I’m happy to go back on the show if he asks.

The Todd Klein show airs on KRFE 580 AM from 10am-11am weekday mornings. He has lots of local political figures on — right, left, Republican, Democrat, and miscellaneous. It’s basically a long-form interview with call-ins. (We had 3 callers, which I think is a decent amount for an hour-long show.) Todd asks very relevant questions, which is why his listeners respond well to the show by calling in.

I also have some homework to do, since I couldn’t sum up Obama’s health care policy when asked. I did mention Lawrence Lessig’s endorsement and video which came out today…

…but I’ll get back to everyone with a proper answer about Obama’s healthcare policy. In the meantime, there is:

http://barackobama.com/issues

Oh, and if you’re reading this because you heard me plug my blog on the show, then welcome!

Tonight’s Lubbock DFA “Best of the Political Internet 2007″ event went pretty well. A group of us watched a bunch of internet video clips from last year and had a good discussion after each one. Lots of Daily Show and Colbert, for sure. “Don’t tase me, bro!” made an appearance, as did a compilation video of Alberto Gonzales’ 70+ “I don’t recall” statements strung together in one memory-busting blitz. We also watched short clips about many of the current (or currently-dropping-out) presidential candidates and had a thorough discussion of the primaries so far.

It feels good not only to talk to fellow Democrats and digest the current state of things, but also to beef up the memory of our collective consciousness. American culture tends to be “in one ear, out the other,” especially when it comes to media. It’s important to remember that 2007 was a year when blogging became a big deal (again), that we ran an incompetent crony of an Attorney General out of office (although it took too long to do so), that a roomful of college students did nothing when one of their number was tasered right in front of them, that Republican primary voters cheered as their candidates advocated torture, and that we lived under an Administration that refused to face its own lies and mistakes with a Congress that failed to enforce consequences for those lies and mistakes.

In the end, one of the greatest contributions of the internet will be the ability to revisit our recent history and master it before moving on.

I know this isn’t a local issue, but I miss fresh content on The Daily Show and The Colbert Report so much.

YouTube Video

And for some yuks:
http://xkcd.com/360

The above image was dugg pretty heavily today, and I think it’s worth reflecting on. What is the popular appeal of Ron Paul, and why is the Republican Party working so hard to suppress it?

I admire Ron Paul for bucking the Republican Party status quo and for his stance on the Iraq War. That’s about it, though. However, I think he is the candidate that best matches the modern Republican voter. Like Kucinich on our side, he should be a strong contender, but the Party leadership and big media don’t want to hear it.

One side note about the above image — I think it’s a bit misleading in one aspect. The major candidates don’t use meetup.com to organize their supporters. Instead, they have their own in-house systems that accomplish the same and more. So, the numbers in the image are a bit of apples vs oranges.

What are your thoughts about Ron Paul and about “minor candidates” in general?

Recently, the A-J, via LubbockOnline, began hosting a political blog called Mr. Conservative, written by Dr. Donald May. I was quite frustrated when this blog launched, because it was the only non-staff blog at LubbockOnline and Dr. May is a staunch Republican. (And his letters to the editor are some of my least favorite of all time.)

Well, it turns out that the LubbockOnline folks were planning a political blog to balance Mr. Conservative, and it launched today. Lubbock, meet Freda McVay, a Liberal Lubbockian**.

I’ve known Freda for a few years now, and she’s great. She speaks well, writes well, and has done a lot of good for our community. She also did her part as a candidate against Mr. Carl Isett a few years ago.

I can’t wait to read more blog posts from her, and I relish the chance to do a side-by-side comparison of her blog with Dr. May’s blog.

** Yes, I know we’re “Lubbockites” here. After reading the first post, you’ll realize, as I did, that the title is meant as a Molly Ivins tribute. RIP, Molly.

Sunday’s A-J included an editorial from Lubbock Mayor David Miller. I’m surprised because it’s not that bad of an editorial.

A few points that I like:

• He recognizes that Lubbock citizens want “time to build consensus on what our taxpayers believe is needed to position our city for the next 100 years.” Good.
• He regognizes the importance of maintaining our core streets like 34th St. Also good.
• He wants to address Lubbock’s ridiculous teen pregnancy and STD rates: “Doing nothing is no longer an option.” Absolutely.

I am pleasantly surprised by the Mayor’s editorial, but, as always, deeds will speak louder than words.

Here’s another gem from MoveOn.org’s 50 Ways to Love Your Country, this time about responding to biased reporting:

The media are indeed biased, but, if we speak up when the facts as they report them do not match the facts that we or others have observed, we can help neutralize the propaganda and get back to the reporting.

I don’t care whether you believe that the overall media leans conservative or liberal — biased reporting is harmful either way, especially on the local level. So, how do we fight it? Some of my favorite suggestions from this chapter are (paraphrased):

Let your passion be your guide; select an area that you care about for your media watch.

Make a note to yourself whenever you notice something that doesn’t sound right or something that is obviously false. Do research online and in person to seek the truth.

Choose your battles. It’s ineffective to become the “crank” who complains about every story, but you can save notes on a specific trend you see in your local media and then make a larger complaint.

I can say with confidence that I know some Lubbockites that are “cranks.” Being a crank is a speedy way to marginalize yourself and decrease your effectiveness. Of course, even a crank can tell the truth; the question is whether anyone will listen.

I’m still at a loss for how to address Lubbock’s right-wing radio stations that present nonstop cherry-picked news with conservative commentary. Who do you complain to there? They know what they’re doing, and are sometimes directly run by Republican Party leaders. (The state of talk radio shows how Reagan really screwed us when his administration did away with the fairness doctrine.)

I believe that TV and print media in Lubbock are generally more responsive to media watchdogs, because they have a reputation of reliable news to maintain.

We’ll see how online media in the area evolves.

Thoughts?