Japi's Blog

Ron Howard Supports A Candidate

I used to love watching Opie (in the Andy Griffith Show) and Richie Cunnngham in Happy Days... and Ron Howard has become a great film maker since... He is supporting Obama so I really like this video from Funny or Die.... but even if you don't support Obama, you may enjoy watching this, it's fun!

Joe The Plumber - Watch & Listen To The Whole Conversation

When John McCain began mentioning Joe the plumber at the last debate (21 times!), he has been discussed ad nauseum at every stump speech, news show, etc...

McCain and Palin have said that the exchange between Barack Obama and Joe Wurzelbacher as angry and rude... So let's watch the full conversation and make up your own mind.

In my opinion, it's a very calm discussion...AND it doesn't sound like Socialism to me... the tax system is the tax system that has been in place for many administrations and it's always been a scaled system.

And now let's look at the facts about Joe the plumber:

1. Joe is not a licensed plumber (it's not necessary if you work for a plumbing company)
2. The company that Joe wants to buy would get a tax cut under Obama's plan because it made MUCH less than $250k
3. Joe himself made under $50k last year which would also give him a tax break under Obama's plan
4. Joe is a registered Republican and has made a donation to McCain's campaign

So it looks like Joe was either a McCain plant (if you are REALLY paranoid) or just a dork who wanted to be in the public light and get his 15 minutes.... time's up, Joe!

The Republican Convention so far

I've watched the Republican National Convention on and off the last few days... one of the things that so far has stood out is that most of the speeches are either saying wonderful things about McCain or criticizing Obama.... but there is little to no substance when it comes to the issues.  I think they have wasted several days of a large TV audience where they could have made it very clear how McCain would make our lives better.

I thought Governor Palin delivered a great speech... I had not seen her speak before and was very impressed... but the content of the speech was very negative and I think she also missed a great opportunity to rise above the fray.  So it looks like the Republicans are just going to run a negative campaign and hope it sticks.  There was an unexpected reaction after Palin's speech - Obama's campaign received a record $10 million in one day.

Attacking Obama is a very risky strategy.... when Hillary Clinton ran negative ads or had negative attacks against Obama, his lead increased.  The only way Clinton got back in the race was when she started talking about what she would do to help the economy, etc... but it was too little to late to win the nomination.

There WAS one speech I've really enjoyed... Mike Huckabee... he has a great sense of humor and good delivery.

I am very interested in what the polls will show next week.  So far there's been little to no movement for either side.

What was McCain thinking??

Seriously??? John McCain chose Sarah Palin as his running mate??

What is going through his mind?  Or was this the recommendation of his vetting team?

Paul Begala described it in the following manner: "For a man who is 72 years old and has had four bouts with cancer to have chosen someone so completely unqualified to become president is shockingly irresponsible."  Begala's commentary article is titled: Is McCain out of his mind?... this made me chuckle because I had the same reaction when I saw the news.

It seems that McCain is trying to get the young vote, the female vote (especially Hillary supporters)... I think it missed the mark completely!  This could be a decision that will really hurt McCain's electability.

On MSNBC, they tore her up pretty badly: bringing up an ethics issue for which she is being investigated and her flip-flop on the "bridge to nowhere" - which she initially supported in 2006 and recently stated she was against it.

It's going to be extremely interesting how Fox News spins this one... and I am pretty certain that the poll numbers will start to show how bad of a decision this was.

Historic Night - Obama is the official nominee

Barack Obama officially became the Democratic Party's Presidential nominee last night.  On the 45th anniversary of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have a Dream" speech - coincidence? I doubt it.

Rev. King's dream of equality is closer to a reality with Senator Obama's nomination... so it's absolutely fitting!

Barack Obama's acceptance speech last night was long and not one of his best if you measure it against some of his more powerful speeches (like the one he gave in March 208 titled "A More Perfect Union"or his 2004 convention powerful keynote).  However, it was Senator Obama's most complete speech detailing the plans he has for our country.

With the 2008 Democratic National Convention coming to a close last night, it's going to be very interesting to watch if there is a dramatic shift in the polls... it will be especially interesting to see what happens with Hillary supporters.

Bill Clinton Quiets The Media - Now THAT'S NEWS!

After Hillary Clinton's speech on Tuesday night at the Democratic National Convention, all the major news shows started slicing up every word she said and ESPECIALLY what she didn't say.

Well, it looks like Bill Clinton was watching some of those shows.... he made it very clear that "Obama is ready to be President!"  These words were the main ones that the news media said were missing from Hillary's speech the night before.

President Clinton also mentioned how HE had little experience when he won the Presidency 16 years earlier.... in his words "And here's what I have to say about that. Everything I learned in my eight years as president, and in the work I have done since in America and across the globe, has convinced me that Barack Obama is the man for this job."

Here's a video of his speech... I think the Clintons have set the table for an Obama victory in November!

Has the term "journalistic ethics" become an oxymoron?

Last night, ABC News hosted a debate between Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.  It has been a somewhat insane primary season with ugly politics being played at every turn.... and last night was one of the ugliest examples of it thus far.

I recorded the debate and began watching it at 9:30 PM or so... it was a 2 hour debate so I was pretty tired as it ended.  During the whole debate, I was not quite sure what was going on (I'm guessing it was due to being sleepy) - I just knew something wasn't quite right.

In every debate so far, Senator Obama has been poised and risen above the "politics as usual" attacks thrown his way.  Senator Clinton has had good and bad moments in the debates - personally, I have not been impressed by her performance in them.  She seems bitter and uses attack politics to try to make herself look better than her opponent.  I believe voters are smart enough to see through her and the results of the primaries are proof of that as Senator Obama has a commanding lead in delegates and popular vote.

Well, back to last night...I went to sleep not truly understanding what I had just witnessed.  This morning I received an email from an old time friend, Marcia, explaining exactly what had happened - Senator Obama had been railroaded!  My initial reaction was "naw, we're just being paranoid"... then I started reading and found out that YES, horrible multi-level political attacks had been leveled at Senator Obama... and here's a small sample of the public and media backlash:

1. The ABC News Web site has received over 18,000 comments regarding the debate and just looking at the first few pages, it's obvious that the public is outraged by the lack of professionalism and journalistic integrity shown last night by both George Stephanopoulus and Charlie Gibson.  People have posted numerous comments demanding they be fired and about once or twice per page, there's a comment complimenting the debate (some of these could have been planted by ABC News). Some of the more interesting comments include:
   • "I am very disappointed that it abc spent half of its precious national debate time on questions about lapel pins and guilt by association. As a high school social studies teacher trying to interest young people in the genuine policy issues faced by our republic, I am stunned that what used to be one of our top three television news organizations would ignore so many crucial issues in order to rehash personal topics that just make the American people more cynical. The debate was a disservice." - jcrider5344
   • "I can't believe I once took Charles Gibson to be a serious journalist. I actually believed that he could replace Peter Jennings. Was I wrong! Given that Hillary's husband was once George Stephanopoulos' boss, I didn't expect much from him. Nevertheless, I decided to watch the debate because of Charlie. Thanks, Charlie. You've lost a long-time fan." - vetforobama
   • "Gibson, Stephanopoulos...clearly hitmen. Ten million viewers watched as ABC News destroyed its reputation." - chyxct98
2. The blogs are blowing up with postings ripping ABC News, George and Charles:
   1. On AlterNet:
      1. ABC Blows It!
      2. Worst. Debate. Ever.
      3. Debate: ABC Decides Top Issues Facing Americans Are Flag Pins and '60s Radicals
   2. On The Huffington Post:
      1. ABC Debate: High Ratings, Critics Give Broadcast Poor Reviews
      2. Obama Criticizes Debate, Attacks Clinton For Being "In Her Element"
      3. David Brooks Praises ABC, Debate, Because He Lacks...
      4. The ABC Debate: A Shameful Night for the U.S. Media
   3. The Guardian in the UK:
      1. US network faces backlash after Democratic debate
      2. Debate moderators force Obama on defensive
   4. Editor & Publisher:
      1. Clinton-Obama Debate: ABC Hit on Focus on Minor Issues
   5. The Boston Globe:
      1. Gibson, Stephanopoulos criticized for work on debate
      2. Obama says debate focused on 'gotcha,' not policy issues
   6. Philly.com
      1. ABC gets an earful after debate
      2. Does Gibson Know The Constitution? (64 comments)
   7. In The Washington Post:
      1. In Pa. Debate, The Clear Loser Is ABC (over 200 comments)
      2. A Debate About the Future (hundreds of comments)
   8. Daily Kos:
      1. Let's Be Absolutely Clear About Last Night's Debate (501 comments)
      2. As a former ABC News employee, I have to say... (225 comments)

It's really sad to see how such a strong news network which has produced great journalists like Peter Jennings and Ted Koeppel has stooped this low.

The debate was held at Philadelphia's National Constitution Center which is beautiful, educational and represents the founding of our nation, and this makes the mess that ABC News called a debate even worse.

In my opinion, George Stephanopoulus should have said "I cannot participate in this debate since I could be biased."  But he (and ABC News) obviously did not care about journalism ethics - they attacked Senator Obama relentlessly and I am hopeful that the nation noticed the travesty - especially the voters of Pennsylvania and they show it in next week's primary!

Dr. Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

My niece, Adriana Perez, sent me this and it's amazingly inspirational.

Dying professor, Dr. Randy Pausch knows he is dying. This video will leave you thinking when it's over. Take 10 minutes of your time to watch it. It would do us all some good.

Patrick Hughes - amazing musician, inspiring individual

My wife sent me a link to a YouTube video earlier today.  It's definitely a tear-jerker, but it is completely inspirational. 

The story was originally aired on ESPN College Gameday last year (December 2, 2006)... but it's timeless.

Patrick Hughes is a young man at University of Louisville who was born blind and crippled and yet now plays the piano beautifully as well as marches (with the help of his father) in the Louisville marching band.