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Friday 5.23.03:
We’re Number 1! Once again, Imagine if they had
been hookers instead: Police in What’s wrong with
this picture?
Gentle readers, allow WWP to paint a picture for you: You run for election
and you lose the popular vote. But because you have five well-placed friends,
you are declared a winner by 537 votes in the murkiest of all possible
situations. Then, you, with a net
worth of, let’s say, $20-85 million, cast the tie-breaking vote to –
voila! – give yourself a tax cut. No one points out the conflict of interest.
If this
doesn’t infuriate, what will? McNews, here we come: Just how big do media giants
need to be? If current proposals now secretly before the Federal
Communications Commission are approved, these 800-lb. gorillas will get even
bigger. As William
Safire, that radical lefty, points out, just three companies own half of
the radio stations today. Likewise, a small handful of television and print
conglomerates has commandeered a vast portion of the
American news and entertainment landscape. WWP doesn’t buy into
the malarkey that the proliferation of cable channels constitutes
"competition," or that the mega-media have improved quality. Safire
argues (and WWP humbly agrees) that that putting media outlets in fewer hands
profits few at the cost of many. He writes: "Does that sound
un-conservative? Not to me. The concentration of power – political,
corporate, media, cultural – should be anathema to conservatives. The
diffusion of power through local control, thereby encouraging individual
participation, is the essence of federalism and the greatest expression of
democracy." While you’re at it: You can read more about media monopolism (and one of Worldwide Pablo’s other beefs, the
intentional and politically motivated strangulation of public school funding)
at MoveOn.org. Don’t miss this
last-minute chance to petition the FCC about media monopolization. The Republicans’
dirty laundry: Is
there anyone in American politics sicker than Rick Santorum? If there is, it
might his supporters, who are apparently unfazed by the hypocrisy of the
white-bread, "I’m in, you’re out" politics
championed as "compassionate conservatism." Worse yet is the
notion that privacy rights do not exist. Click
here to be depressed. Imagine the lawsuits
if this had happened in the All
the
S*** That’s Fit to Print: At last, Jim Spagg, the
"Nude Guy on TV," meets his match. Willamette Week
has the poop on it (so to speak). A note: Worldwide Pablo is taking a
break for the holiday weekend. He will return on Tuesday. Meanwhile, do a
good deed by remembering the reason
for this three-day weekend. (No, it’s not about going to the mall.) Thursday 5.22.03:
Keep those cards and
letters a-comin’: Worldwide Pablo is heartened by the response to
his revamped website. It’s now simplified so that it can be updated more
easily (and more frequently). WWP welcomes – nay, ardently seeks – your contributions
to the site. Suggestions for weblinks, political
commentary and arts reviews are welcome. Just
click here. War sucks: Among the gutsiest people on
the Internet is the anonymous gay Iraqi Internet writer, "Salam Pax," whose weblog attracted readers worldwide in the months leading
up to the war. Readers worldwide flocked to his site, interested in learning
about life under the government of Saddam Hussein. Salam
Pax, silent during the worst days of the war, is
now back online. He writes: "Let me tell you
one thing first. War sucks big time. Don't let yourself ever be talked into
having one waged in the name of your freedom. Somehow when the bombs start
dropping or you hear the sound of machine guns at the end of your street you
don't think about your 'imminent liberation' anymore." The writer is described
as a "twenty-something" gay architect, who was trained in the West.
There’s a nice collection of his essays and reporting, covering the buildup
to the war and the first days of coalition bombing, at his weblog. Click
here to read. Update: WWP is told
that Internet traffic to this website is extremely heavy, and surfers may not
be able to access the site readily. As an alternative, read about it on the UPI website. Wednesday 5.21.03:
Take That,
Doonesbury: So
now we have the highest tax load in the nation, courtesy of metro voters’ approval Tuesday of a
1.25 percent income tax surcharge for three years. Don’t misunderstand
Worldwide Pablo. He is all for keeping the schools open, maintaining
classroom sizes and funding essential services. In fact, WWP thinks its admirable that citizens are willing to shoulder their
share, or more, of the burden. If only Oregon business did the same. Tuesday 5.20.03:
Something They Don’t
Do in After a quick
introduction and orientation (nevermind that WWP
forgot his paperwork and was forced to stand in line to re-register along
with other similarly offending miscreants), he was quickly called up for the
very first jury pool, for a criminal trial. The 30 men and women truly were a
cross-section of the population: old, middle-age, young; white, brown, black,
yellow; there was even one newly minted American, a young woman born in Worldwide Pablo was
among those "peers." A day of testimony and trial, and then three
hours for deliberation, ensued. WWP can happily report that the 12 strangers
took the job seriously, having followed the judge’s admonitions: Don’t
discuss the case until deliberation; consider all the evidence, and only the
evidence; weigh the validity of witnesses’ testimonies; and to apply the law
to the facts. A guilty verdict
resulted, by a 10-2 vote. WWP provided the 10th and final vote needed to
convict. (Shades of "Twelve Angry Men"?) He hasn’t lost any sleep
over it, however. The justice system does
work. Very well, thank-you-very-much. PS: WWP was rewarded
just today with payment for his jury service. As My Roommate Made Me
Do It: Is it
only Worldwide Pablo’s opinion, or was Cybill Shepherd absolutely mesmerizing as design
maven Martha Stewart in this week’s docudrama "Martha.Inc."?
Just like Martha’s own recipes, Cybill was
delicious and over the top. Bottom line: 120 minutes of "must-see" schlockovision. But then, WWP tends to
rubberneck at automobile accidents, too. |
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Read something about
it:
(WWP’s
Top 5):
Reconciling Ministries Network Other news and opinion
links:
The Blogosphere:
Josh Marshall’s Talking Points Memo Gay links:
Recent links:
Friends of WWP:
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