Captain Digital

Random musings on politics, society, and pop culture from the Internet's marketing curmudgeon.

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Current Events, Society & the Law

Economics and Perception.

One of my favorite stories involves a blind street vendor of hot dogs. One day, one his customers suggested that if business was good, he should consider expanding. The customer offered to help the blind vendor with introductions to a banker, and so the vendor ended up buying a second cart, and hiring someone to work for him. That worked out so well, that he was able to buy more carts, and hire more people. This gave him enough discretionary income that he was able to send his son to college. The son majored in business administration. When the kid graduated, he returned home to see that his dad had purchased a corner lot and an old diner trailer that he rennovated and opened as a freestanding restaurant. The son was horrified. “Dad…don’t you know the economy is lousy! You shouldn’t be expanding right now…you need to pull in your horns and hunker down for a long recessionary period. This has got “Depression” written all over it! You’d better be careful, or you’ll lose everything!” 

The father thought, “Well…my son did go to college, which I’ve never done, and he did major in business, and he did get a degree. Maybe he’s right.” So he sold the restaurant, sold off the other carts, and went back to working a single street corner, selling hot dogs. He thought, “Boy, my son was right. The economy is lousy.” [Read more…] about Economics and Perception.

Journalistic Malpractice.

Keeping to my pledge to lay off politics for a while is going to prove to be more difficult than I thought.

Yesterday, I heard a report of an on-air chat between reporters talking heads Charlie Rose and Tom Brokaw, where they sat around (basking in the post-election afterglow) and opined that nobody really knows anything about our President-Elect. They were somewhat mystified that anyone could get elected to the Presidency, without knowing what they think about the important issues of the day. (Keep in mind, we’re not listening to a couple of wet-behind-the-ears, 20-something bloggers here – these two gentlemen of the press have what amounts to a lifetime of experience between the two of them.) They both remarked that “we don’t really know anything about Obama.”

Whaaaa?!

[Read more…] about Journalistic Malpractice.

Gullible’s Travels

If you listen to the media, Al “I invented the Internet” Gore, and many of the self-appointed expert witnesses we call Hollywood stars, you’d count Chicken Little as an underachiever. It seems that, every other day, we get another politician telling us that we must limit carbon emissions, or that the pollution on our planet is all our fault (humans in general, and America, specifically). According to the prevailing wisdom:

  • America is the big villain when it comes to carbon footprints, global climate change (nee: “global warming”) and the destruction of the planet
  • The only way to save our planet is to allow the government to tax us out the wazoo
  • All the experts are in total agreement on the causes and effects of global warming and climate change.

Let’s look at the last one first. [Read more…] about Gullible’s Travels

The Straw Man.

As a conservative, I find it both interesting and annoying that so much of what we see on TV as “entertainment” leans (or lunges) to the left. In a weird way, it affords me a way to keep in touch (albeit somewhat reluctantly) with what the liberal side of the world is thinking. Not that I have a lot of options…most programming on the networks run from the left-of-center to the far left. The occasional shows that exhibits any love for the right (24 and The Unit) are either too popular to cancel, or anomalies that don’t usually last too long. [Read more…] about The Straw Man.

Cheaters never win. (I hope.)

poker cheating device I’m not a big believer in the efficacy of our campaign finance laws. I am of the opinion that the McCain/Feingold Campaign Finance act (yep. THAT Mccain), was a huge mistake. Be that as it may, we do have laws and our candidates – ALL our candidates – are expected to abide by them. Even The Chosen One. 

Now comes the news that Obama and Co. have found a way to game the system. Federal law limits the amount of contributions from an individual, and sets forth regulations as to who can contribute. The laws are designed to prevent any group of people from effectively purchasing a candidate. There is a maximum dollar figure that any one person can give to a candidate. [Read more…] about Cheaters never win. (I hope.)

Conservative News…and Views.

Amarillo is a pretty conservative place. Conservative politically. Conservative socially. Conservative fiscally. So it came as something of a surprise to me that there was no local, conservative newspaper or magazine to provide conservative viewpoints on local and national issues.

Now, there is.

The Amarillo American Standard has released it’s first issue, as of today. I designed it, and contributed both artwork and one feature story. It’s available all over Amarillo, at various merchants. If you’d like to look at a copy online (and don’t mind a 3MB PDF) you can download it here.

This is the “preview issue” – the plan is to begin publishing on a weekly basis, starting in January.

Let me know what you think.

Karma is a Hillary.

shirt courtesy of VectorRight.com

There are so many ironies in the last days of the campaign, that I hardly know where to begin. But I’ll try. Here’s a baker’s half-dozen things that I think the Left is doing to hand McCain the victory he wants, and the country needs:

ITEM ONE:
The latest flaw in the Master Plan of The Chosen One revolves around a video tape detailing the close, personal relationship Obama had with a Palestinian terrorist. At least that’s what it smells like, but the L.A. Times (“All the news we slant and print”) won’t release it. They’ll be more than happy to tell us what (they say) is on the tape, but are standing on “journalistic ethics” (an oxymoron, with an emphasis on the last two syllables) if ever I heard one), and refuse to release it. [Read more…] about Karma is a Hillary.

Getting churched.

From the time I was in 4-year-old kindergarten, I’ve been an Episcopalian Anglican. Today, I had the rare privilege to serve as a lay reader to conduct a Morning Prayer service at my church. Our rector, Father Doug, was out of town, and it was my turn in the bullpen to help out. 

For those of you who have never experienced the beauty and majesty of the Anglican liturgy, I suggest that you hie thyself to thy nearest Anglican church and check it out. Of course, even if you’ve never set foot in an Episcopal church, you’ve almost certainly sat through at least part of a service. If you’ve watched a movie or TV show with a wedding ceremony in it and heard the words, “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here…” then you’ve heard the Anglican rite we know as the Sacrament of Marriage. [Read more…] about Getting churched.

Voting Early.

Vote as if your life depends on it.
Vote as if your life depends on it.

Yep. I did it. I cast my vote, as early voting runs through October 31 here in Amarillo. Mrs. Digital and I headed over to the mall and cast our votes for President, Senator, Representative, and a slew of local offices.

You might expect, given that I am a proud conservative, that I voted the straight Republican ticket.

And you’d be wrong. [Read more…] about Voting Early.

The choice we face in this election.

 

NOTE: This post is a slightly edited version of a piece I wrote in response to an article published in Animation World Network magazine. 
— • —
As Election Day ’08 draws near, it’s obvious that this election represents the crossing of the Rubicon for America. As voters, We the People have a choice to make, and it’s a dramatically different one than we’ve faced before. In our generation, we’ve never had to face a decision that offers such stark contrasts – Obama, the anti-war, anti-big business, big-government candidate or McCain, the pro-business, anti-tax, political maverick – who in any other year would be described as a moderate (in almost every respect, except for his position the war). 
Those on the left would have you believe that the choice we face is between the “progressive” ideas of the cool, calm and collected Obama, versus a senile, mad dog (McCain) prone to rash decisions and irresponsible positions on the war, the economy, and our future.
But pause with me for a nanosecond, and let’s consider a few (verifiable) facts, and see if those on the Left have  all the answers. [Read more…] about The choice we face in this election.