Many times we use words and phrases without any idea of where they may have originated from. Take the word "We" for example if you wanted to find out about its origins and usage you could go to wikipedia.org/wiki/We and find how it is used in other countries and languages.
Most of us are not only familiar with it as a pronoun in the English language, we use it in everyday conversation without a thought. We, the word is sometimes over worked.
After I helped give it wide attention yesterday, media commentators started weighing in on the brief video captured (probably via cell phone) at a private fundraiser in which President Bush joked about Wall Street getting "drunk" and making light of the U.S. housing crisis. Dan Froomkin at The Washington Post called it Bush's "YouTube Moment," which makes you marvel - yes, he has had relatively few of them, at least of the "whoops, that was private" variety.
Amazingly, earlier that same day - last Friday - at another fundraiser in Tucson, Bush, according to Daniel Scarpinato of the Arizona Daily Star had fretted about this eventuality. "So sensitive were Republicans about information getting out about the goings-on at the Tucson fundraiser . . . even W. himself," he wrote, "made sure to ask the 400 or so people at the event to turn off any recording devices. 'I don't know a lot about technology,' the president said, according to one insider, 'but I do know about YouTube.'"
At least he didn't say "the YouTube" or "the Tubes."
Update: Despite getting two hundred diggs in just a few hours, this video never made it to digg's home page. Turns out it was buried, presumably by McCainiacs. Please redigg with the new link that has been set up and spread the word if you can -- let's stop this McCain censorship.
Maryland 3rd district Congressman John Sarbanes is working hard to build the party and put a democrat in the white house!
Since Sarbanes is in a safe district, he has decided to build the democratic party and help ensure our success in November. The congressman is putting together a volunteer coalition to help the democratic party not just at the presidential level, but at the senate and house level as well.
Sarbanes' operation involves calls to Virginia for Obama and Warner, and canvasing and calls to the eastern shore for Kratovil in this red to blue house race. Sarbanes helps win these races for us with events every week, and an office full of activity, with the goal of building a democratic wave in November.
I McSame can get away with all of this and the MSM will let him its a challenge to see what happens next. When Barack wins I want the job of dealing with the MSM. Actually going to Fox and telling them there is a price to pay for the last 16 years of crap they have peddled. The above is one example of media negligence, letting McBush off with this stuff is not even close to full filling the duty of the fourth estate.
I still have dreams of a truly impartial media that reports the news and provides a public service that is worth watching. Staffed by people with brains who know the issues, in-depth, with follow-up, who are not fobbed off with BS answers. Then again I think I saw the tooth fairy last week, did some one really nominate CNN situation room for an EMMY?
The Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) announced the launch of a national online video contest with YouTube asking Americans to answer the question, "Why are you a Democrat in 2008?"
The winner of the 2008 Convention Video Program with YouTube will attend the Democratic National Convention in Denver in August and see his or her winning video played before thousands of delegates, elected officials and other Convention guests. YouTube will also send the winner on the campaign trail for a day, where as a member of the traveling press pool, the winner will record a video documenting the daily activities of the Democratic nominee.
Last week, on July the 1st, I received notice from YouTube that eight of my videos on YouTube's website had been taken down, allegedly for copyright violations. The videos included the notorious "God Sent Hitler" video which caused sufficient scandal, because it got shown widely on American and international TV, to force John McCain to renounce the political endorsement of Pastor John Hagee. JHM Ministries also targeted videos from Max Blumenthal, from People For The American Way and even from a Christian fundamentalist ministry critical of Hagee's "Prosperity Gospel" teaching - maybe videos from other parties too. But overall the hit was very selective.
We've again seen an escalation of US/Israeli threats to attack Iran. Among many examples, Congress is considering a resolution promoted by AIPAC that would effectively demand a blockade against Iran, although a surge of opposition has prevented it from being passed so far. (The resolution is H. Con. Res. 362; you can ask your Representatives to oppose it here.)
Here's what those promoting military attacks and blockades on Iran don't want Americans to know: there's an offer on the table that could resolve the dispute over Iran's nuclear program and allow both sides to claim victory.
In this short interview, former Ambassador to the UN Thomas Pickering makes the case for talks with Iran without pre-conditions on multilateral uranium enrichment in Iran.
The Williams sisters played in the Wimbledon tennis final, Venus Williams won her fifth Wimbledon title. Serena seemed headed to victory early but ran out of gas. The sisters are to be congratulated for their redemption and recovery from all the distractions and injuries they have had since the last time they dominated women's tennis some five years ago. It was good television what with the drama of the family watching and knowing that one had to lose. I don't know how they do it. I sometimes think that Venus as the older sis sandbags little sis Serena with some mind games, but then, you still have to hit the shots don't you. No doubt the Williams sisters will enjoy the extra shopping money they just shagged out of merry old England as they well should. They earned it!
Now every minute you Spend (as in $$$) on youtube, you are also feeding the Big Brother machine the Bush administration has robustly doctored until BB became a strong, very potent, bouncing baby, for the neocon belief system of freedom.
Their rule-of-thumb on freedom is, "We Will Tell Them They Are Free... FREE TO DO WHAT THEY ARE TOLD TO DO OR ELSE." All their doings has been leading up to this day... The beginning of the end of Lincoln's eloquent words used during his Gettysburg Address that afternoon on, Thursday, November 19, 1863 "government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." In just over two minutes, Lincoln enforced the principles of human equality supported by the Declaration of Independence and redefined the Civil War as a struggle not merely for the Union, but as "a new birth of freedom"(more here)
Viacom (CBS, Comedy Central) is suing YouTube/Google for $1 billion for facilitating copyright violations when videos (e.g. Daily Show, Colbert, CBS News) are uploaded to the YouTube site.
During discovery, Viacom demanded that Google turn over just about everything in its database, and the trial judge has ruled that they will have to turn over:
* all data concerning what videos users watched and uploaded;
* usernames;
* user IP addresses.
It's yet another example of the copyright laws being used to suppress free speech. Don't buy it? Read below the fold.
Growing up in the south is never been easy, especially if you hate country music. I am sure their are some great country songs that speak to what I am about to share but I think of no better band with three songs that speak though written a life time ago it seems. Yet the words of this music should still be speaking to us today and every day. To me this is what the election is about. about "the world we created", about "One Vision" and about "a Miracle"
I love my friends, but what really bugs me is when they get sent something ridiculous. Something every fiber of their being is telling them is wrong, but they still somehow think there's a possibility of truth. So they forward it to me, when a simple google search would have put all their worries to rest.
So tonight I received such an email from a good friend. She sent me this...
REALLY?!... you gotta watch this. It sounds like V for Vendetta II. I know it's sensationalism at its finest, but have you heard of any of this?
:) Sleep well.
So clearly she reads it as sensationalism, but it's been forwarded to her from family and friends and she's curious. So, I wrote her back, a couple of paragraphs of what I knew from the subject matter after watching the ten minutes of trash that is included in the youtube link. sigh It was surely more than she was asking, but I had to at least let her know 1)What I knew about the subjects, because well its just polite since she asked and 2)It's always okay to ask, though forgive me if I seem frustrated...
Tonight, I attended a live taping of the Daily Show. Before the show, Jon Stewart answered questions. Among a bunch of trivial stuff, I got to ask a more serious one: "Are you at all bummed that Viacom is not letting people share videos of you on YouTube?"
His reaction (approximately): "The YouTube thing? You know, people were only putting up 3 or 4 minute bits, but Viacom said take them down. I never understood what the big deal was. And now they have some new video service anyway - Hulu?" ("Hulu," a confident colleague of mine asserted from the audience.)
Good for Jon Stewart - not towing the corporate line! Techies can be proud. Answers to more trivial questions below...
Don't you just love it when you can take what was really said on the Senate (or House) floor and tell the real truth to counter some of the lies and misrepresentations put out against our progressive candidates?
Consider this an open diary about The McCain Youtube Contest. It is on, and you can all participate!
I am curious to see what is your favorite John McCain Youtube video thus far?
So please, do reply with your 'audition' on a comment, and I will come back here periodically and update the diary with the videos (comments with the video in it) that are recommended the most by Kossacks.
