The End of an Era

Photo owned by Anchor Productions

A grand old play is singing it’s swan song for the near future.
"King of Kings," produced by the Anchor Church of San Diego, will be going into an indefinite hiatus do to the churches on going remodeling and renovation. I am apart of that 20 year-old-play that signs off on March 30.
Over the years, thousands of San Diegans have graced our doors and have taken part in a rousing experience. This is and has been the best drama in San Diego, a successful and powerful sleeper manned by hundreds of dedicated cast members and behind-the-scenes support. The amazing set brings ancient Jerusalem back to vivid life and the traditional Passion story is both accessible and compelling. Hundreds return every year to experience "King of Kings."

My regret is that more could not have attended.

Hilary: The Dominoes are Falling. Obama: The Dominoes are Falling (in line)

The Obama tune keeps on playing as more people jump into the bandwagon. The newest is Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico who added his endorsement to the ascendant Barack Obama's campaign. Senator Obama has accrued some losses due to his controversial ex-pastor but he still has the momentum.


Hilary Clinton fends off more bad press to her campaign in the wake of the release of 10,000 pages of documentation about Hilary's eight-year stay at the White House. The documents are filled with redactions and show her doing....well, very little. She is the candidate running on "experience" and with the release of these papers, her qualifications are harder to find. Hilary should hope for a miracle while searching for a new dynamic campaign strategy.
Saturday Night Live anyone?

Answered

Senator Barrack Obama answered his critics on race and Rev. Wright today. He spoke before the Constitution center in Philadelphia. In answer to the rhetoric of his pastor and opponents, the senator told those gathered that the racial divide, for all its ugliness and beauty, is part of him.

“As imperfect as he may be, he has been like family to me. … I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother,”
(who was given to making negative racial remarks.)

That man can sure give a speech! His speaking has a rhythm to it and while he meanders off course at times, his batting average is still pretty good. But is this going to take the heat off him? I think it will, at least until the next Obama controversy stokes the press. Hilary made a wise move when she and her campaign stayed out of the Wright controversy because I think it would have come back to bite her later. Senator Obama's talk today probably secured him even more votes. The senator is a natural born speaker and writer. In general, I do not naturally trust writers.
I am one myself.

Obama's Wright Hand?

“The government gives them the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes three-strike laws and wants them to sing God Bless America.

“No! No No!

“God damn America … for killing innocent people.

“God damn America for threatening citizens as less than humans.

“God damn America as long as she tries to act like she is God and supreme.”

(Also)

“The government lied about inventing the HIV virus as a means of genocide against people of color. The government lied.”
(And)

“Hillary is married to Bill, and Bill has been good to us. No he ain’t! Bill did us, just like he did Monica Lewinsky. He was riding dirty.”



So says Jeremiah Wright Jr, Barack Obama's long time paster and "spiritual advisory."

Fox News was drumming this story yesterday and it may yet still ignite a power keg around Senator Obama that began to form when Michelle Obama first said "For the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country."

As for the major promoter, Fox news is biased, even a sixth grader could figure that out by watching the channel for one hour (for the record, I believe that most news is biased-its kind of a human thing). However I believe that Fox performs a necessary function by covering stories that sometimes the other media outlets, for one reason or another, will not touch. (Note, this story is not one of them-ABC news first broke it- but Fox has certainly give it a LOT of face time.)

Wright is a scary individual and Obama is going to have some real explaining to do. Obama has already denounced certain (but unspecified) statements made by Rev Wright but much more is going to be needed. I find most troubling Wrights' stance on Israel and am worried Senator Obama shares them. For the early part of the campaign, Obama did not talk much about Israel but now under intense scrutiny has affirmed his support for Israel's right to exist.

After eight years under President Bush, I have a policy about politicians. Do not listen to what they say during the primary and general election and instead look at their record for the real scoop on how they will govern.
I fear that the probing of Obama's record has only begun.

No country for Old Journalists

A new generation of journalists are upon us. They favor the world wide web rather than the printed page. They are called "Citizen Journalists."
Many of them will never receive green backs for their labor and yet they soldier on in the name idealism, fun or gossip. They lack the ability to pierce the stories requiring press badges but regardless they can do a lot by being at the right place at the right time. Cell phones and the web 2.0 are injecting these young guns with with potent steroids, allowing them to challenge and even change the traditional news process.

Lets examine the evidence.

Comedian Michael Richards' racial tirade in a L.A club was caught on a camera phone. (by an audience member who decided to put the footage up on the biggest wire in existence, the internet.) Recently an undercover video in a slaughterhouse "led to the largest beef recall in the United States." (according the You-tube) The big dogs of journalism are repeatedly relying on a trashy celebrity site called TMZ.com and a poplar video site called You-tube. The Web no longer follows the news, the news follows the web, and those who power the web are citizen journalists.

The web 2.0 is still not finished, for its next trick- respectability.

CNN.com is now pushing its own brand of citizen journalism with its I-Reports. (Visit the beta by going to http://beta.ireport.com/index.jspa) The site takes reports from all across the world, accepts other language reporting besides English and is updated continuously by "I-Reporters."
Of course, putting the news in the hands of the citizenry is nothing new, but such a big establishment as CNN validates its legitimacy as a reporting tool.

The future is both exultant and murky for this new medium. On one hand the man-on-the-ground access will allow CNN to field stories long out of its reach. On the other, CNN may be bombarded by a new wave of "citizen activists" who will use the power of the press for their politics. The citizens journalists are dilettantes who are responsible to nobody and answer to no one.