Captain Digital

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

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Politics

It’s up for debate.

I was never on the debate team in High School. Always thought I’d be pretty good at it – I love to challenge people with whom I disagree, and enjoy the give-and-take when someone can argue their positions with facts and logic (as opposed to rhetoric and emotion. 

I watched the debate last night with interest. The candidate on the side I’m pulling for (the conservative side, if there was ever any doubt) is not known for his inspiring speeches or magnetic personality. The guy on the left (Obama) is all about lofty rhetoric, but generally short on specifics, not to mention logic. Then of course, you have to factor in the pundits. “McCain needs to put Obama away to win this.” “Obama is in the lead, he just needs to not screw up…a draw is a win for him.” “Both candidates need to deal with specifics, so we can get past the slogans and see real plans.” Um, yeah. I made that last one up. Nobody in the media has been saying anything like that.

So, how did it go? I dunno. I think Obama started strong, but then got more and more rattled as the night went on. McCain did surprisingly well, but I don’t know if that was enough to move undecideds into his column. I think this election is gonna come down to the wire. I would like to make a few observations on last night’s performances: [Read more…] about It’s up for debate.

What are we payin’ these guys for?

If you were paying me, oh, say…$175,000 a year, what would you expect for your money? Would you expect me to show up to work? Do my job? Maybe deal with more than one problem at a time? Ya think?! 

Let’s consider Congress. According to the NYTimes bestsellers by Dick Morris and his wife, in a GOOD week, Senators and Representatives spend about one day or so on the floor, debating and voting on things, and perhaps another day in a committee or subcommittee hearing. That’s it. And for at least six months of their term, they’re out, schlepping for votes, to get RE-elected. Not exactly a great return on our investment.

Now we come to a genuine crisis, albeit one that our esteemed members themselves helped create. According to Senate majority leader Reid, the idea of Messrs. McCain, Obama, and Biden coming back to Washington to help negotiate a bailout deal, was “unhelpful.” 

God, I hate politics. [Read more…] about What are we payin’ these guys for?

Well-meaning. But stupid.

As I write this, the American Friends Service Committee, Mennonite Central Committee, World Council of Churches, Quaker United Nations Office and Religions for Peace are set to host an “international dialogue” on the topic “Has Not One God Created Us? The Significance of Religious Contributions to Peace” at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Manhattan. Their Very Special Guest? Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you, Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Is this for REAL? [Read more…] about Well-meaning. But stupid.

The Energy Solution Paradox.

 The solution to our energy woes is surprisingly simple, but paradoxically, needlessly difficult. If we could get the government out of the way, private enterprise could solve this, by simply trying ever avenue that looks like a money-maker. Drilling (within the 0 to 50-mile zone), coal-to-oil, solar, battery/hydrogen research, wind, nuclear, et cetera. The problem is that there are way too many interested parties that are gaming the system, the worst of these are the Feds. (Close behind are the special-interest green energy and ecology groups.)

If the Feds want to HELP, what we need is legislation that will stop nuisance lawsuits that aim to stop drilling, wind, and nuclear plants. It would also be helpful to push legislation that would provide a “floor” for energy prices – to prevent OPEC from dropping oil prices to kill our own development efforts. [Read more…] about The Energy Solution Paradox.

A Perfect Storm.

Okay – full disclosure time, here kiddies: if you’re looking for a blog post that’s going to be uplifting, funny, or one of those “triumph of the human spirit” things, click off, and come back tomorrow. Consider yourself warned.

Did you see the movie The Perfect Storm? If you’re not familiar with it, or perhaps, took a pass on it due to your natural aversion to George Clooney, what happened was several climatological phenomena came together simultaneously to create a killer storm. Change one factor, and it’s a survivable storm. With all the factors in place, nobody gets out alive. It’s sort of like what happens with airline accidents. It’s never just one thing – it’s ice on the wings plus a de-icer failure plus a pilot pushing on through bad weather to make up time for his airline. Or maybe a pilot who didn’t get enough sleep, combined with cracks in the airframe plus wind shear. Take away one of these, and the passengers live. All three, and the NTSB makes another house call.

I’m afraid that we are looking at a perfect storm for the good ol’ U. S. of A., and I’m not sure that anything short of divine intervention is gonna save us. Let’s take a little inventory of what storms are on the horizon: [Read more…] about A Perfect Storm.

The Money Shot.

One of the few regrets I have in my life is that I know so little about money. I don’t understand how money really works. I never learned about investing, stocks, bonds, money markets, et cetera. So please understand the the comments I make here reflect not the musings of a financial wizard or economics expert, but the thoughts of someone who relies on common sense when all else fails. Having said that…

I got a bad feeling about this, Sundance.

Since I don’t know that much about economics and financial matters, I have to speak about the current meltdown in the financial markets from the basis of a guy who DOES understand marketing (my day job), capitalism (I’m a big fan!) and common sense (with which I have at least a passing familiarity). [Read more…] about The Money Shot.

The High Standards of the Media.

Full disclosure: I used to be a reporter. In my salad days, I was the news director of my college radio station. Not exactly a stepping stone to the next Pulizter, but I bring this up to illustrate that I am aware of what it takes to work on an explosive story, and the fact that it can be difficult to keep one’s opinions neutral, when writing about topics that can elicit a partisan response.

Having said that, it really isn’t that difficult to tell when a reporter (or an entire network – NBC) is in the tank for a candidate. That’s bad – and a complete repudiation of journalistic ethics. (There’s a reason why newspapers have a “news” section and a “opinion” page. What’s worse is when a journalist decides to carry the water for their candidate’s attack dogs, and turn their bully pulpit into a venue for personal attacks.

Ladies and gentlemen, may I give you Ms. Heather Mallick, of the CBC News. [Read more…] about The High Standards of the Media.

Bias, with a side of mud.

Item #1: A few years ago, Rolling Stone magazine ran a series of brilliant ads in other trade publications, to educate potential advertisers as to who really reads Rolling Stone. They were two-page spreads – on the left showed someone dressed as a classic, 1960’s-era hippie. The headline read “Perception.” On the following page the same guy was dressed in a Brooks Brothers 3-piece suit, with a briefcase. The headline on that page read “Reality.” The body copy stated some demographics for the magazine, pointing out that a majority of their readers were affluent and held real jobs.

Item #2: My daddy used to impart a number of pearls of wisdom to me, two of which were “you can’t throw mud without getting some on you,” and “the guilty dog barks first.”

Keep these items in mind as I share with you some bon mots from the campaign trail… [Read more…] about Bias, with a side of mud.

The Politics of Envy.

As a reader of this blog, you know that I come at things from a conservative point of view. Note that I didn’t claim a Republican point of view, as the GOP has managed to largely divest itself of the Conservative position over the last eight years or so. I long for a leader that will bring back the principled convictions and decisive action of Ronald Reagan. I think I’ve found such a leader. And it has the left positively apoplectic. I’m loathe to quote Al “I invented the Internet, and the Global Warming ScareFest, too!” Gore, but he did say something quite revealing (or at least it’s been attributed to him – you can never really tell with a liberal if it’s a real quote, or just more plagiarism): “When you have the facts on your side, argue the facts. When you have the law on your side, argue the law. When you have neither, holler.” And, boy, the left has been hollering. But why? They claim to have the facts on their side. They claim to have the rule of law. Based on the readouts on the VU Meters in the media, I’d say they realize they don’t. Here’s what I think is really going on…

[Read more…] about The Politics of Envy.